
Class _JJ- 



Book 



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COPYRIGHT DEP0S17 



HISTORIES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 



ESSENTIALS 



IN 



ANCIENT HISTORY 

(FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDS 
TO CHARLEMAGNE) 



BY 

ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON, Ph.D. 

ASSISTANT IN UISTORY, DE WITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL, NEW YORK 

IN CONSULTATION WITH 
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D. 

PROFESSOR OF UISTORY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY 



NEW YORK .:• CINCINNATI •:. CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



HISTORIES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

A SERIES PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF 

ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORV, HARVARD UNIVERSITY 



ESSENTIALS IN ANCIENT HISTORY 

By ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON, Ph.D. 

ESSENTIALS IN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN 

HISTORY 

By SAMUEL B. HARDING, Pii.D. 

In 2jrepa)'aiion. 

ESSENTIALS IN ENGLISH HISTORY 

By albert perry WALKER, A.M. 

In preparation. 

ESSENTIALS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

By albert BUSHNELL HART, LL.D. 

In preparation. 



Copyright, 1902, by 
•ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON. 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London. 



ESSEN. ANC. hist. 

_■ W. P. I 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two C0P»E8 RECnVED 

NOV.^ 1902 



CLAS8 ^ XXa N«. 
COPY B. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

This series of four histories for secondary schools is intended to 
serve as an outline of the most important episodes in the world's his- 
tory. The titles of the volumes sufficiently suggest the point of view : 
the effort will be to bring out the things which have really been sig- 
nificant and vital in the development of the race. Personalities and 
events, however striking in themselves, which have not had a clear 
and definite effect in the movement of the world, are onntted in 
order that in the brief space available the essentials may be more 
clearly presented. 

In the four successive volumes the series follows the plan recom- 
mended by the Committee of Seven : the first volume includes the 
essentials of history from the earliest civilization in Egypt and Meso- 
potamia to the establishment of a western empire by Charlemagne; 
the second volume covers mediaeval and modern European history 
from about 800 a.d. to the present day; the third volume is a con- 
secutive account of English history; the fourth covers American 

history. 

Each volume presents the work for one school year, and an effort 
has been made so to divide the work that a week may be devoted to 
each chapter. The numbered sectional headings in the margin show 
the natural subdivision of each subject, and furnish a convenient 
means of reference and cross reference. 

As for pedagogic apparatus, the plan followed throughout has been 
to print a brief bibliography together with select and cogent topics 
for review and studv- Two series of questions will be found at the 
end of each chapter: the first a set which may readily be answered 
from the text or from ordinary compendiuras such as cyclopedias, 
atlases, and the like; the second a set providing for the modern 
method of search into a wider range of authorities. Suggestions for 
such work will be found in the Report of the Madison Conference 
of 1892, the Report of the Committee of Seven, and the New England 
History Teachers' Association Report on Use of Historical Sources m 



6 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

Schools. The only hints that need liere be given, are that for pupils 
in their first year in the high school topics must be such as may be 
simply and easily answered out of a small number of available books; 
that so far as possible sources should be used, because of their suggest- 
iveness and spirit; and that such work ought to be an adjunct, and 
not the stai^le of a pupil's work in the course. 

Every good school course ought to include some parallel reading 
from sources or from good secondary books, and such material may 
very conveniently be reached through the bibliographies at the end 
of each chapter. In these bibliographies the first references, as far 
as possible, are to books included in the " Brief List " which will be 
found near the end of each volume. This small collection of books 
may be purchased for twenty-five dollars or less, and all teachers and 
pupils are urged to provide themselves with as many of these books 
as possible. For schools or individuals who have access to a larger 
library, a General Bibliography is given, from which further books 
may be selected. 

In order to train pupils to think about facts, there will be found at 
the end of each chapter a brief summary, which is not a mere re- 
capitulation of the previous sections, but a succinct statement of the 
whole ground covered by the chapter. 

Throughout the series maps are plentiful. It is expected that 
teachers will insist on the location of the places mentioned in the 
text, and, further, that they will make clear the geographical relief, 
the relations of mountains, plateaus, river systems, and lowlands 
which play a part in history. 

The illustrations throughout are representations of real things, of 
still existing memorials of former times, or reproductions of'' con- 
temporary portraits, and pictures of historical sites. 

ALBERT BUSHNELL HART. 



THE AUTHOR TO THE TEACHER 



In writing this text-book, two things have been kept constantly in 
view : first, that it should contain nothing but the essentials of 
ancient history; and second, that the story should be told in a way 
that would be perfectly comprehensible to boys and girls just entering 
a high school or academy. With these two purposes in view, every- 
thing which does not conti'ibute directly to the understanding of the 
rise, development, and downfall of the nations of antiquity has been 
rigorously excluded ; while abstruse discussions and the minutiae of 
the story have been avoided, as unsuited to the readers who are to 
use this text. In the main, the book deals only with the lives of men 
who have had a large influence upon the country in which they lived, 
and with places which were centei-s of important events. Hence, it is 
hoped that the pupil will carry away with him a clear idea of the 
character and career of the great men of antiquity, and will know, 
when he has finished the book, the names, the location, and the 
importance of all the great centers of ancient civilization. 

The aim of the entire book has been to tell not simply the story of 
the nations of the Orient, of Greece, and of Rome, but of ancient 
civilization in its development and decay ; hence I have ventured to 
depart from the time-honored method of carrying the subject down 
to the end of Greek political life before beginning the story of Rome 
at all. The history of the two civilizations is not entirely distinct; 
Rome was a growing power even in the days of the greatest glory of 
Athens and Sparta, and when Greek independence perished, Greek 
culture remained to influence the whole later history of Rome; hence 
it has seemed wise, after completing the account of the life and work 
of Alexander, to tell the story of the beginnings of Rome. When the 
fortunes of Rome have been followed to the point where the city is 
the greatest state in the Mediterranean basin, the iiistory of the East 
is resumed and carried on to the point where it merges in that of 
Rome. Should any teacher prefer the old method of treating the 

7 



8 THE AUTHOR TO THE TEACHER 

history of the two nations, he has only to take up Chapters xxiv. 
and XXV. before Chapters xviii. to xxiii. 

No real comprehension of ancient history is possible unless the 
pupil has a clear idea of geography and chronology. In writing the 
text, 1 have constantly endeavored to convey a clear idea of the chrono- 
logical relations of events; and in making the maps, especial care has 
been exercised to see that they illustrate the text. Physical and 
political divisions have been carefully indicated, and in general no 
place has been inserted which is not mentioned in the text. 

The illustrations in the book are all pictures of things which 
actually existed in ancient times, except a few reproductions of 
modei'n paintings which depict accurately ancient conditions, and a 
few photographs of places where memorable events occurred. I urge 
strongly the use of other collections of pictures besides those included 
in the text, because they serve to fix in the minds of young people 
the habits and customs of the races about whom the book is written. 
In the same way, the reading of historical fiction should be encour- 
aged, even though the author may occasionally depart from strict 
historical truth ; for in no other way can the essentials of a civiliza- 
tion be so firmly implanted in young minds. 

In using the apparatus appended to each chapter, the hints given 
in the General Introduction should be carefully considered; the 
best results 'with young pupils will be obtained by a small amount 
of judiciously selected reading. Boys and girls should, however, be 
encouraged to read the sources, since through them they will be 
enabled to enter best into the spirit of the times in which they were 
written. In preparing the topics for recitation, the work should be 
simple at first, and increasingly difficult as the pupils become more 
and more familiar with the book and with the subject. 



I am under special obligation to my friend Dr. James Sullivan, of 
the High School of Commerce, Borough of Manhattan, New York, 
for the preparation of the topics and bibliographies and the selection 
of the maps for this book. These parts of the work were intrusted 
to him, and it is to his skill and effort that their excellence is due. 

ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON. 



CONTENTS 



I. The Homes and Highroads of the Ancient World . 

ORIENTAL HISTORY 
II. The Egyptians : Their History and Civilization 

III. Babylonia and Assyria: The Kingdoms of the Tigris 

Euphrates ^'alley . . . . . 

IV. The rhcenicians : The Disseminators of Oriental Civili 

zation 

THE RISE OF HELLAS 

V. The Dawn of Greek Civilization .... 
VI. The Unification of Greece and the Colonization of the 

Mediterranean 

VII. Constitutional Development in Greece 
VIII. The Conquest of Ionia : The Beginning of the Trouble 

between Greece and Persia 

IX. The Foreign Invasions of Hellas .... 
• X. The Building of the Athenian Empire 

XL The Age of Pericles 

XII. Life, Letters, and Art in the Time of Pericles 

THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

XIII. The Peloponnesian AVar to the Sicilian Expedition . 

XIV. The End of the Athenian Empire .... 
XV. The Triumph and the Degradation of Sparta . 

THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

XVI. Philip of Macedon, the Conqueror of Greece . . 
XVII. Alexander the Great : The Conquest of the East . 

THE ROMAN KINGDOM 

XVIII. The Beginnings of Roman History .... 

THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

XIX. Early Roman Wars and Conquests .... 
XX. The Struggle of the Plebeians for Equal Rights (509 

287 B-c.)" . 

XXI. A Half Century of Italian Conquest (827-272 b.c.) 
XXII. The Conquest of Territory beyond the Italian Peninsula 

(264-221 15. c.) 

XXIII. The Second Punic War (219-202 b.c.) . 



PAGE 
11 



24 



49 



60 

73 

87 

102 
114 
130 
138 
145 



163 
173 
183 



194 
204 



218 



233 

242 

255 

269 
282 



10 



CONTENTS 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

PAGE 

XXIV. Hellas from the Death of Alexander to the Roman 

Conquest 296 

XXV. Greek Social and Intellectual Life from 400 to 200 b.c. 307 

THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

XXVI. Rome the Mistress of the Mediterranean Basin . . 319 
XXVII, The Influx of Eastern Manners and Customs into Rome 333 
XXVIIL The Beginning of the Revolution : The Gracchi . . 346 
XXIX. The Effect of the Revolution in the City and the De- 
pendencies : Marius and Sulla 359 

XXX. Pompey and Csesar : The Passing of the Republic . 372 

XXXI. Csesar and Pompey : The Fight for Sole Dominion . 384 

THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

XXXII. The First Century of the Roman Empire . . .398 

XXXIII. The Golden Age of Roman Imperialism . . . 418 

XXXIV. Roman Life and Literature in Imperial Times . . 431 

THE TRANSITION 

XXXV. Christianity in the Empire 447 

XXXVI. The Triumph of Christianity and the Beginning of the 

Germanic Invasions ....... 457 

XXXVII. The Fall of the Western Empire and the Foundation 

of Germanic States 475 

XXXVIII. The Establishment of the Roman Papacy and the Crea- 
tion of the Mediseval Empire 490 

Bibliography , 503, 505 

Index 511 

EEFERENCE MAPS 



Distribution of Races . . 12 
Physical Map, Ancient World 15 

Egypt 24 

Lands Conquered by the As- 
syrians, 1125 to 668 B.C. . 37 
Phoenicia and Phoenician Colo- 
nies 52 

Greece . . . . 58, 59 
Greece and Greek Colonies . 82 
Persian Empire . . .108 

Sicily 126 

Greece at Beginning of Pelo- 
ponnesian War . . .162 



Alexander's Empire . . 210 
Italy .... 216, 217 
The City Rome . . 225, 431 
Growth of Roman Power in 

Italy 264 

Division of Alexander's Empire 300 
The Roman Empire . 396, 397 
Growth of the Roman World 

270, 294, 331, 392, 409, 425, 466 
Europe in 476 a.d. . . 476, 477 
Europe in 526 a.d. . . . 481 
Europe about 580 . . . 485 
Charlemagne's Empire . . 500 



ESSENTIALS IN ANCIENT HISTORY 

CHAPTER I. 

THE HOMES AND HIGHROADS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD 

The history of the civilized world may be divided into 

three great periods. The tivst, an era of more than thirty 

centuries, includes the record of the nations which in , „ 

' 1 . Scope of 

ancient times inhabited the valleys of the Nile and of ancient 

the Tigris and Euphrates ; the second includes the his- ^ °^^ 

tory of the peoples who inhabited the northern peninsulas of 
the Mediterranean and held dominion over the western world 
during the thousand years from about 600 B.C. to about 400 
A.D. ; the third period embraces the history of the races of 
central Europe who about fifteen hundred years ago wrested 
the power away from the races of the Mediterranean and are 
still the dominant people in the world. 

By studying the monuments of ancient peoples, by examin- 
ing the remains of their civilization, and by deciphering their 
written records, we can trace the history of the w^orld back 
to a period some three or four thousand years before the birth 
of Christ. That the human race has lived upon the earth 
much longer than this has long since been proved, but the 
story of these early men belongs to other branches of human 
knowledge than history, and we shall therefore not try to dis- 
cuss them in this book. 

Outside the limits of Europe, and beyond the adjacent parts 
of Asia and Africa, there have existed and still exist great 
empires controlled by the yellow races ; but the white races 
only have contributed directly to the civilization of the 

11 



12 



THE ANCIENT WORLD 



modern western world, and therefore we are interested pri- 
marily in their career. Of the white or Caucasian races, 
there are three great types, — the Hamitic, the Semitic, and the 
Aryan. The Hamitic races inhabited the valley of the Nile 
in a,ncient times ; the Semitic occupied the Tigris-Euphrates 




valley and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean ; the Aryan, 
in historic times, have lived in two widely separated regions, — 
the plateau of Iran and the valleys of the Indus and Ganges to 
the east, and Europe to the west. 

In the division of the world's history suggested in the first 
paragraph, the first period is that of the supremacy of the 
Hamitic and Semitic races ; the second and third periods are 
marked by the supremacy of the Aryan races. In this book, 
we shall study, first, the history of the ancient Hamitic and 
Semitic empires ; second, the history of the Aryan Greeks and 
Romans of southern Europe ; and third, the transition of power 
from the Aryans of southern Europe to the Aryans of central 
Europe. 



HOMES AND HIGHROADS 13 

Since we are to begin the study of history with the story 

of nations which lived ages before the discovery of America, 

we must first of all fix in our minds the accepted 2. Chro- 

system of reckoning time. In Christian countries, it has ^° °^ °! 
*^ ^ ' ancient 

become the universal custom to date all events from the history 

traditional year of the birth of Christ ; anything, accord- 
ing to this system, is said to have happened so many years 
before or after that momentous event. Each one of the 
countries of antiquity, however, had its own scheme of reckon- 
ing time ; in many, the people never got beyond keeping their 
records according to the reigns of their successive kings, — 
thus, for instance, the Bible speaks of events as happen- //, Kings, 
ing " in the fourth year of King Hezekiah." In other ^^"^- ^ 

countries, time was reckoned from some great national fes- 
tival, like the Olympian games in Greece, or from some 
great national event, like the founding of the city of Rome. 
Thus the Roman speaking of the birth of Christ did not say 
that he was born in the year 1, but "in the year 754 a.u.c." 
that is, in the 754th year from the founding of the city. 
Since Christian chronology is a comparatively modern sys- 
tem of reckoning time, all events of antiquity must be 
redated according to our system before we can tell how long 
ago they occurred. Furthermore, in all dates before the birth 
of Christ, it should be remembered that the larger number 
is earlier than the smaller ; thus 400 b.c. precedes 300 e.g. by 
one hundred years. 

Turning now to the geography of the ancient world, we 
shall notice, first of all, that Asia is divided by nature into 
two very unequal parts separated by an almost unbroken 3. High- 
mass of mountains and desert plains which stretch from plains of 
the Black Sea to Bering Strait. ]*^orth and west of these Asia 

mountains lie great steppes or plains, with a climate so unfa- 
vorable that the inhabitants have taken little part in history. 
>Only at long intervals have the wild races of the steppes 



14 THE ANCIENT WORLD 

swept over the barrier raised by tlie nioiuitains into the 
lands of the south. South and east of the mountains lie 
the great river plains of China, India, and Mesopotamia, 
regions among the most fertile in the world, which in very 
ancient times were the seats of three great civilizations. 
Since these plains are separated from one another by almost 
impassable barriers, the three civilizations had but little 
effect upon one another. 

East of the Altai and Himalaya mountains lies China. 
Four or five thousand years ago, a race of men who came 
from some country to the west wandered into this fer- 
tile region and founded a kingdom which, though it has 
often been a prey to marauding hosts of Tartars, has lasted to 
this day and is still noted for its exceptional civilization. 

The language and the institutions of the Chinese are alto- 
gether distinct from those of the European nations ; still, 
they developed a literature of their own which has consider- 
able merit, and upon a knowledge of which their civil service 
examinations are based ; and about the end of the sixth 
century b.c, there arose among the people a great religious 
teacher, Confucius (551-478 b.c), whose moral and ethical 
doctrines affected the life of the country throughout all the 
succeeding centuries. Besides Confucius, the Chinese can 
boast of another great religious teacher, Lao-tse, the founder 
of Taoism, second in influence only to Confucius. 

Since, however, China is cut off by deserts and highlands 
from the lands to the west, and since the Chinese have always 
been noted for their exclusiveness, the varied history of the 
land lies entirely outside the ordinary field of study. 

Flowing south from the Himalayas, there are two great 

rivers whose valleys have always supported vast numbers of 

people. These rivers, the Ganges and the Indus, rising 
5. India. 

not far from each other in the mountains, flow to the 



southeast and to the southwest in such a way as to create 



a 



16 



THE ANCIENT WORLD 



long, semicircular belt, which stretches from the Bay of Ben- 
gal on the one side to the Arabian Sea on the other, and 
which from the dawn of history has been the seat of an impor- 
tant civilization. 

About 2000 B.C., an Aryan race coming from somewhere to 
the northwest entered the land, and in the course of the 
succeeding centuries subjugated the aboriginal inhabitants. 
Under these conquering Aryans the land prospered, and the 
remains of their buildings even to-day attest the greatness of 
their civilization. Their language, known as Sanskrit, is re- 
motely related to the pres- 
ent languages of almost 
all the nations of western 
Europe : their literature is 
full of stirring legends 
dealing with their con- 
quests, and their hymns of 
praise to their gods are 
among the noblest songs 
of all antiquity. In reli- 
gion, they were worshipers 
of the powers of nature, 
but their priests, called 
Brahmins, gradually devel- 
oped a belief in one Universal Spirit. The worst feature of 
their civilization is the division of the people into castes. 
Between these castes, of which there are five in all, — priests, 
warriors, farmers, serfs, and social outcasts or pariahs, — there 
is no social intercourse, and civilization has stagnated because 
lack of intercourse is fatal to progress. 

West of the plains of the Ganges and the Indus stretches 
a great highland called the plateau of Iran, which is so 
devoid of water for man or beast that it served as an effective 
check on trade and intercourse between the people to the east 




A Brahmin. 



HOMES AND HIGHROADS 17 

and those to the west. Even as late as the beginning of the 

Christian era, when great empires had been flourishing for 

many centuries both to the east and. to the west, the Romans 

were forced to admit that " few persons of our nation have 

ever seen India ; and those who have visited it have „ , 

St7'abo, 
seen only small portions of it ; the greater part of what Geography, 

they relate is from report." ^^' ^' ^ 

Beyond the plateau of Iran lies Mesopotamia, the valley 
of the twin rivers, Tigris and Euphrates ; from here to the 
Atlantic Ocean, a distance as great as the greatest dis- 6. Mesopo- 
tance across North America from east to west, stretches th^^mia^o 
a comparatively narrow sweep of country that is bound the west 
together by numerous and easily traversed highroads, though 
cut up into a number of separate valleys and peninsulas. 
Its northern limits are formed by the Black Sea and the 
mountain ranges which divide southern from central Europe ; 
its southern limits are the great deserts of Arabia and 
Sahara; in its center lies the Mediterranean Sea, the great- 
est of all the highroads of antiquity. In these plains and 
peninsulas was played the drama of history which we are 
now about to study. 

The valley of Mesopotamia offered every advantage to agri- 
culture, and the navigable rivers were of such a character 
that travel and therefore trade and commerce were easy 
and civilization followed in their path. Up through the 
valley and across the peninsula of Asia Minor ran the first 
great highroad of the world's commerce, "the Royal Road," 
as it was known through all antiquity. Back and forth along 
the road passed the armies, the merchants, and the travel- 
ers, carrying their civilization wherever they went. In Asia 
Minor, the nations of the east met those of the west, and 
here, in the exchange of ideas, was built up the newer civili- 
zation of which we to-day are the heirs. 

South of Asia Minor, between the deserts and the sea, lies 



18 THE ANCIENT WORLD 

a narrow strip of land which offers a most interesting ex- 
ample of the effect of geography on history. Owing to the 
7. Syria: mountains, the deserts, and the sea, this strip of land 

the high- ^^^s the only highroad between the countries to the 

road from 

north to north and east and those to the south; consequently 

south ^]^g dwellers therein became the great trading people of 

antiquity. Furthermore, the open sea lying ever at the doors 
of the people of the coast induced them, a hardy and enter- 
prising race, to build ships in which they might venture out 
to westward. On board these craft they carried the goods 
of the east to the farthest extremities of the known world; 
and in their trade they unconsciously spread the civilization 
which they had learned from their eastern neighbors. 

Across the Isthmus of Suez, in the northeastern part of 
Africa, lies the valley of the Nile. Cut off from the rest of 
the southern continent by the mountains and the desert, 
the ancient Egyptians were little affected by the races 
of the interior. Many conjectures were indulged in as to 
the source of the Nile, but the cataracts and the uninviting 
country beyond served for many centuries as an effective 
check to any real exploration. Besides, with a land so rich 
as the lower course of the river, the people had but little 
inducement to seek new fields for further enterprise. With 
its periodical floods, with its mild and almost invariable 
climate, with its freedom from moisture, and its clear, blue 
skies, the Nile valley was destined, like the valley of the 
Tigris and Euphrates, to become the seat of one of the ear- 
liest civilizations in the world. 

On the northern shore of the Mediterranean are the three 

great peninsulas of southern Europe : Greece, Italy, and 

9. North Spain. Of the three, Greece and Italy in turn be- 

M°d'^t°r* ^ came the centers of important civilizations in ancient 

nean times. Both are mountainous, and, since the means of 

communication by laud were limited, it was not till seafaring 



HOMES AND HIGHROADS 



19 



became common that these countries began to develop. When 
once the Greeks had learned the use of ships, however, their 
development was rapid ; and the knowledge which came from 
the east they later passed — as we shall see further on — to 
their neighbors in Italy. 




— '•«- .1^. -- 



The Nile at Phil^. 



Such is the geography of the ancient world as we know it 
to-day. To the men of antiquity, however, much of this world 
was a sealed book. What they knew or guessed about lO. The 

the earth's surface before the fifth century b.c. we do th^Qreek^ 
not know, for such records of their belief as existed knew it 
in earliest times have long since perished. By the fifth cen- 
tury B.C., however, the Greeks had begun to travel far and 
wide ; and what the traveler saw, the geographer and the his- 
torian set down in books. 

The first of the ancient writers whose works on geography 
are preserved is Herodotus. Though his book is primarily a 
history, yet it gives us a very good idea of the knowledge of 



20 



THE ANCIENT WORLD 




The World according to Herodotus. 



the earth possessed by the Greeks of his time. To him the 
world was a great plain, bounded on the west by the Atlantic 
and on the east by a sea which lay somewhere beyond India. 
Of the western world — that is, of the part lying between the 
plateau of Iran and the Atlantic — Herodotus had a very good 

idea. Of the country 
beyond the plateau, 
of the waters . of the 
upper Nile, even of 
the land beyond the 
mountains in Europe, 
he had only the 
vaguest notions. 

Till the time of 
Alexander the Great 
(about 325 b.c.) the 
knowledge of geography increased but little ; then men came 
to know something of the countries of the east by actual 
observation. Alexander himself explored the Indus River 
and the shores of the Arabian Sea, and by his orders the sea 
itself was navigated from the mouth of the Indus to the 
Persian Gulf. Beyond the Himalayas, or into the plateau 
of southern India, neither Alexander nor his successors ever 
penetrated. 

In the following centuries, control of the ancient world 

passed into the hands of the Romans. From their original 

11. The seat in Italy, they ranged far and wide, penetrating into 

the Romans central Europe, even into the interior of Asia; till, by 

knew it the beginning of the Christian era, the educated Roman 

knew something of the geography of the world from the North 

Sea to the Sahara, from the Atlantic to the Himalayas. In 

time, all this knowledge was gathered into one book by the 

geographer Strabo, who lived just before the beginning of the 

Christian era. According to him, the earth was a sphere, 



HOMES AND HIGHROADS 



21 



composed of a great land mass, which stretched from the 
Atlantic to the sea beyond India, and of a great ocean which 
separated western Europe from eastern Asia. " It is evi- 
dent/' he says, " when persons on shipboard are unable 
to see at a distance lights which are on a level with the Geography, 
eye, that the cause of this is the curvature of the sea ; for 
if the lights are raised to a higher level, they become visible." 
Of the distance around the earth, it is true, Strabo had but 
an inadequate idea; but it is interesting to know that, fifteen 
hundred years before Columbus, men already appreciated the 
rotundity of the earth. 



i. 1, 20 




The World according to Ptolemy. 

In the century or century and a half after the death of 
Strabo, though much was learned to make geography a more 
exact science, little more of the earth's surface was discov- 
ered. Ptolemy, the last of the great geographers of antiquity, 
though he showed a better appreciation of the earth's rotund- 
ity, could include but little more in his maps than Strabo 
had known. After his time, men lost rather than gained in 
their knowledge of geography, till in the fifteenth century, 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 2 



22 THE ANCIENT WORLD 

some fourteen hundred years later, the new kingdoms of 
modern Europe began to send out navigators who eventually 
made the circuit of the globe. 



Ancient history, as we are to study it, covers three periods : 
first, the history of the Hamitic and Semitic races who in- 
12 Sum- habited the valleys of the Tigris and the Nile, and 
^la-ry the lands between; second, the history of the Aryan 

Greeks and Eomans, who controlled the Mediterranean basin 
till well on into the Christian era; third, the history of the 
transition from the ancient to the medieval world, from 
Eoman to German supremacy. To understand this history, 
it is necessary that we comprehend, first, the Christian sys- 
tem of chronology; and second, the physical geography of 
the ancient world, especially that part which lies west of the 
plateau of Iran. It is important also to remember that much 
of our present knowledge of these lands was a sealed book to 
the men who lived in antiquity. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) Why did early civihzation reach its highest point in river 

topics valleys and near seacoasts ? (2) What other branches of the 

human race are there besides the Caucasian ? Why do we not 
study about them ? Why are we most interested in the history of 
the Aryan division of the Caucasian branch ? (3) What is the 
Jewish, the Mohammedan, the Russian, date for the year in which 
you are studying this book? (4) How would a monk of the 
Middle Ages give the date of an event happening near Easter? 

(5) What are the best boundaries between countries ? Why ? 

(6) What, were the "wild races" which swept over the countries 
of southern Asia and Europe ? 

Sea,rch (7) Ancient accounts of crossing mountains. (8) Ancient ac- 

counts of sea voyages. (9) Ancient accounts of river voyages. 
(10) The earliest maps of the world. (11) A story from He- 
rodotus. (12) The voyages of Ulysses. (13) Evidences of the 
Tartar conquest of Pekin. (14) Teachings of Confucius. (15) The 
caste system of India. 



topics 



HOMES AND HIGHROADS 



23 



Historical 
atlases 



REFERENCES 

For critical list see Committee of Seven, The Study of History 
in Schools, App. viii. For class use : Longman's Classical Atlas ; 
Keith Johnson, School Atlas of Classical Geography ; Labberton, 
Historical Atlas. For reference : Putzger, Historischer Schul- 
Atlas ; Droysen, Allgemeine Historischer Atlas ; Kiepert, Atlas 
Antiquus ; Freeman, Historical Geography of European. (Atlas); 
Spruner-Sieglin, Atlas Antiquus ; Schrader, Atlas de Geographie 
Historiquc. 

Ploetz, Epitome of Universal Histoi-y ; Haydn, Dictionary of Chronology 
Dates ; Putnam's Tabular View of History ; Bond, Handy-Book 
for Verifying Dates. 

Kiepert, Manual of Ancient Geography ; Freeman, Historical 
Geography of Europe., I. ; Tozer, Classical Geography ; Smith, 
Manual of Ancient Geography ; Boulger, History of China ; Doug- 
lass, Story of China; Wheeler, Short History of India; Ragozin, 
Story of Vedic India ; Rhys-Davis, Story of Buddhist India. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Rejyort on Sources 
Historical Sources in Schools^ §§ 6-8 ; Herodotus, History (see 
index) ; Strabo, Geography (see index). 



Modern 
authorities 



CHAPTER II. 



THE EGYPTIANS : THEIR HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION 

Whatever evidences of the antiquity of nations the future 
may bring forth, at present the records of tlie past seem to 

13. Begin- indicate that the oldest 

S^l'tfl civilized nation in the 
Egyptian 

history western world lived in 

the valley of the Nile. Of 
» the beginnings of that people, 
we know practically nothing. 
The first Egyptian king of 
whom we have even the faint- 
est records was Menes, who, 
about 4500 or 4000 e.g., seems 
to have united the people of the 
valley under one government 
and established his capital at 
Memphis. Thenceforth the 
Egyptians may be regarded as 
one nation. 

Some centuries after the 
death of Menes we come upon 

14. Era of ^ I'^'Ce of kings whose ex- 

the pyra- istence is proved bv the 

mids ... 

(about 3900 inscriptions carved upon 

-3600 B.C.) the stones of the pyra,- 
mids which stand near the 
modern village of Gizeh. Of these kings, the most famous 
was Khufu or Cheops, who built the great pyramid which 
bears his name. A high state of civilization is proved by 

24 




3rd Cdtaract 



SCALE OF MILES 



Egypt. 

(At its gi-eatest northeastern extent). 



iL. 



THE EGYPTIANS 25 

these pyramids; for only a people who had a considerable 
understanding of the laws of physics and mechanics could 
have reared such monuments to their kings. Cheops and his 
successors ruled in the land for several hundred years. 

When the records begin again, the seat of power has been 
transferred to a city several hundred miles south of Memphis : 
the city of Thebes. Here, under the two kings Amenem- . g „, 
hat and his son Usurtasen, the kingdom was reor- Middle 

ganized, and the dominion of the Egyptians extended (about2800 
beyond the borders of the Nile valley into Syria and south- -2400 B.C.) 
ward into the country of the Nile cataracts. For over three 
centuries, under Amenemhat and his successors, the land flour- 
ished, trade and commerce were carried on, buildings and 
monuments sprang up, and in spite of wars contentment 
reigned in the valley. 

Once again the kingdom declined till, about 2000 b.c, as an 
Egyptian chronicler says, " God was adverse to the land, Quoted in 
and there came men of ignoble birth out of the eastern Josephus, 
parts who had boldness enough to make an expedition ' ' ^? ^j 
into the country, and subdued it with ease." Who le. Hyksos 
these men were, we can only conjecture ; known as the °^ shepherd 
shepherd or Hyksos dynasty, they ruled the land for (about 2000 
about four centuries. In that time, they made them- "^^^" ^^} 
selves masters of the Nile delta and possibly extended their 
power into the upper valley of the river. Though these bar- 
barians had little in the way of culture to offer the Egyptians, 
still they brought with them the tame horse, which thence- 
forward was a common beast of burden in the land. In 
another way the Hyksos conquest was important : in the 
train of the shepherd kings came many traders who brought 
the Egyptians into contact with foreign nations and thus dis-. 
seminated the culture which had developed in the Nile valley. ^ 

About 1580 B.C., a king of a native race, Aahmes, succeeded 
in driving the Hyksos from the land. He and his successors 



26 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



and the 
nations 



— the so-called eighteenth dynasty, according to the lists of 
the priest-historian Manetho, — restored the Egyptian power, 

17 Eevpt ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ began a series of conquests which led them 
far among the nations. Southward into Nubia, the 
country of the cataracts, they penetrated; and under 
Thothmes I., the third king of this dynasty, expeditions 
were undertaken which led even to the upper waters of the 
Euphrates. What Thothmes attained by arms, his daughter, 
Queen Hatasu, accomplished by trade ; during her regency, 
extensive commercial expeditions were 
undertaken, and Egyptian ships were 
seen beyond the limits of the Eed Sea 
in the Indian Ocean. 

Under Hatasu's brother, Thothmes 
III. (1481-1449 B.C.), the realm attained 
its greatest glory; year after year, he 
led his successful armies forth into 
the land of Syria and beyond, till, 

Records of before his death, '' the chiefs of 

\l^t ser^H ^^^ *^^^ countries were clasped in his 

P- 17 fist." Into Egypt streamed long 

trains of captives, and treasures beyond 
calculation. In the wake of the armies 
traveled traders with their goods, the re- 
sult of centuries of industrial progress, ubelisk. 
and once again the culture of Egypt in Central Park, New 

, , , , , , . York ; brouoht from 

was spread abroad among the nations. Egypt, it has inscrip- 

About 1350 B.C. a new race of kings, tions by Thothmes III. 
"the nineteenth dynasty," ascended 

the throne. For many years these rulers engaged in con- 
stant warfare with a strong people, the Hittites of the 
, Bible, for territorial supremacy in Syria. Finally, in the 
reign of Ramses II., the two races came to an understand- 
ing by which they divided the land' between them. This 




THE EGYPTIANS 



27 



treaty, perhaps the oldest in the world, has been preserved 

for us. " The great prince of the Hittites makes this Records of 

treaty with Ramses II., the great king of Egypt, from f*^ ^^j^' 

1st SBV» J. V • 

this day forth, so that a good peace and brotherhood may p. 25 

arise between them. He shall be in alliance with me 
and I with him for all time." Out of this agreement grew 
another era like that of Thothmes III. ; once again com- 
merce flourished ; once again architects and builders were busy 
erecting palaces for the king, and temples for the gods. 




Colossal Statues of Ramses II. at Ipsambul. 



When Ramses died, however, the glory of the kingdom was 
already on the decline. Brilliant as had been his reign, the 
foundations of the kingdom were undermined ; and though his 
successors ruled the land for a century and a half longer, they 
were, for the most part, weak, priest-ridden kings, with nothing 
of the individuality of their great ancestors. In the end, the 
priests themselves became kings, deposing the weaklings of 
the nineteenth dynasty. 

The power of Egypt in the world was already gone, and year 
after year the valley was raided by the surrounding nations : 



28 ORIENTAL HISTORY 

first, the Ethiopians from the south invaded and ruled the 
land; next, the Libyans; and finally the Assyrians from 
18 Effvpt ^ey^i^cl the Euphrates overran the valley. What the 
the prey of inhabitants suffered we can only dimly conjecture ; never- 
(aboutl200- theless, these conquests served a good purpose, for by 
525 B.C.) them the culture of the centuries was spread over the 
entire ancient world ; and thus the Egyptians left their heri- 
tage to the future ages. 

For the last time a race of native princes ascended the throne 
in 645 B.C., when Psammetichus drove out the Assyrians ; but 
their rule was unimportant. In the end, they too fell before 
a conquering host : for in 525 B.C., Cambyses, king of Persia, 
entered the land and easily conquered it; from that day to 
this Egypt has hardly known an independent native ruler. 

Almost all that we know of the ancient Egyptians is pre- 
served in the fragments of their literature, and in the many 
19. Egyp- inscriptions with which they covered their buildings. 

tian Ian- These records are written in hieroarlyphics : that is, in 
guage and o j x •> ^ 

literature a system of writing in which ideas or letters are ex- 
pressed in the form of conventional pictures. Until the 
beginning of the nineteenth century these hieroglyphics were 
nothing more than unintelli- ^ 

gible picture writings to the ^1 ^^ ife. ^^^ 

• T • ^ • A 



European; since then, how- 

The 

Hieroglyphics 



ever, through the activity of '^"^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^'^ '^^ 



Champollion, the great Egyp- 
tologist, and his successors, we have learned to understand 
them almost perfectly. The key to their interpretation was 
found in the so-called Rosetta stone, on which a decree in 
honor of one of the later kings (Ptolemy, 196-181 b.c.) was 
engraved in three kinds of writing : Greek, popular Egyptian 
(called demotic), and hieroglyphics. In all parts of Egypt 
there exist, even to-day, after five or six thousand years, the 
remains of tombs and buildings covered with inscriptions 



THE EGYPTIANS 29 

from which we can draw a fairly complete picture of the life of 

the people. Besides these, there are preserved in the museums 

of* Egypt and Europe many fragments of the books which the 

Egyptians wrote on paper manufactured from the pulp of the 

papyrus reed. They include public and private records and 

all sorts of literary productions. Most common are the rolls 

devoted to the celebration of the virtues of those who have 

passed to the world beyond the grave ; but much thought was 

devoted also to pure literature — fables and legends, stories of 

adventure and travel, lyric and religious poetry. Let the 

following prayer of King Eamses II. be an example of the 

literary skill and pious fervor of this ancient people : — 

" Then I, King Ramses, said : ' What art thou, my Records of 

father Ammon ? What father denies his son? Have the Past, 

1st ser. II. 

I done aught without thee ? Have I not stopped and p. 69 

stayed looking for thee, not transgressing the decisions 
of thy mouth ? . . . Have I not made thee monuments very 
many ; filled thy temples with my spoils ; built thee houses for 
millions of years ? . . . I am amid the multitudes unknown, 
nations gather against me : I am alone, no other with me ; my 
foot and my horse have left me. I called aloud to them, none 
of them heard. Yet do I find thee, Ammon, worth more than 
millions of soldiers T ' " 

Throughout the entire period of authentic history, Egypt 
was ruled by a king or pliaraoh, the character of whose au- 
thority we moderns scarcely comprehend. So absolute g^ Govern 
was his rule, so far was he removed from the life of an ment and 
ordinary mortal, that the very ofhce was thought to con- 
fer upon its holder kinship with the gods. 

Nevertheless, the king called upon his subjects to aid him 
in the exercise of his divine authority. Within the palace, 
there lived a small army of officials and servants whose duties 
ranged from waiting upon the king with their advice and 
counsel, to attending to the smallest detail of his toilet, 



30 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



Beyond the palace, the king's assistants ruled, in his name, 
over the thirty or forty provinces into which Egypt was di- 
vided. From these provinces, and from the conquered lancls, 
flowed the taxes and the tribute which maintained the king in 
oriental magnificence, and enabled him to undertake those 
public works which still stand among the marvels of the world. 
The army of the pharaohs consisted of two classes of troops : 
regulars and militia. The militia was composed of those 
tillers of the soil who were not slaves, and was called upon 
for service only in times of greatest need. In the regular 

or standing army there 
were several grades of 
troops : first, the heavy- 
armed infantry, equipped 
with lance and javelin, 
and protected by a quilted 
cap and buckler ; next, the 
light-armed infantry, armed 
with bow and arrow, but 
unprotected by any defen- 
sive armor ; finally, the 
corps of auxiliary troops drawn from the dependencies, who 
bore the arms and armor of their native country. After 
the Hyksos invasion, when horses were introduced into Egypt, 
charioteers found their way into the army, but the infantry 
remained to the last the most important branch of the service. 
We have seen above that in the minds of the people the 
king was closely allied with the gods. These gods were the 
21.Keligion most prominent factor in all Egyptian life; indeed, the 
nefinim-^" ^^^i^'® existence of the peoj^le was dominated by their 
mortality religion. In the beginning, each province had its own 
gods ; as the land was unified, these provincial gods were added 
to the national pantheon, till, in historic times, the records 
speak of the "thousand gods of Egypt." 




An Egyptian War Chariot. 
From a mouument at Thebes. 



THE EGYPTIANS 



31 



Of all the deities, three hold the most prominent place: 
Osiris, I sis, and Horns. Abont them gathered a very consid- 
erable mythology which had its basis in the phenomena of 
the rising and setting sun. Osiris, the sun, travels across the 
heavens, till in the evening he is killed by his brother Set, 
the god of darkness. Over his body, his wife I sis, goddess 

of the western horizon, mourns till he has been avenged by his 

son Horns, god of the new day, 

who takes his father's place in 

the w^orld of daylight. Another 

principle of Egyptian religion 

is the practice of identifying the 

worship of the gods with the 

adoration of some natural object, 

usually an animal. Thus, to each 

god was dedicated some animal 

whose body was sacred, and in 

which the Egyptians w^ere accus- 
tomed to look for the presence of 

the divinity. Dedicated to the 

service of these numerous gods 

was an extensive body of priests, 

who, next to the king, even before 

the nobles, enjoyed the highest 

privileges in the state. Into their hands, besides the worship 
of the gods, was gathered the education of the people and the 
care of the records of the state. 

In the realms of the west, where Osiris lived, — so ran the 
legend, — the souls of the dead took up their abode. In order 
to preserve for every soul the body in which it had lived, the 
Egyptians took the greatest care of the earthly remains of the 
dead. Immediately after death the body was intrusted to 
the embalmers, who carefully prepared it for the grave. The 
mummy was then returned to the family, who carried it in 




HOBUS. 



32 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



.^^S^,.: 



procession to the city of the dead, where it was buried, often 
in a costly tomb. No greater sacrilege could be committed 
than to disturb the body or 
neglect the worship of the de- 
parted soul. So skillful was 
the embalming that many 
mummies are almost perfectly 
preserved to-day; and we can 
actually look into the face of 
the great Eamses. 

Nearly all the records of 
Egyptian civilization are found 

22 Archi- depicted on the walls of 

lecture, the temples or of the 

andpllnt- tombs. As early as the 

^^S year 3000 b.c, the Egyp- 

tians had attained to perfection in a kind of architecture 
which for massiveness in construction has never been excelled. 




Mummy Head of Ramses H. 




Section of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh. 

The pyramids have been the wonder of all the ages; those 
who built them must have served an apprenticeship in the 
mechanical arts of many hundred years, for they show a per- 



i 



THE EGYriTANS 33 

fection of construction and a knowledge of the laws of physics 
which no new race could have had. Intended as tombs for 
the kings, they stand the proud witness of the greatness of 
dynasties long since passed away. 

When the race of kings Avho ruled at Thebes came to the 
throne, a new form of architecture had already taken the place 
of the old. The tombs are no longer so immense, and the 
kings are uoay usually intent on building stately houses for 
the worship of their gods, rather than for the entombment of 
their dead. These temples, conceived on a gigantic scale, 
often covering acres of ground, were usually composed of 
vast series of columns, arranged in long rows so as to give 
the spectator a mysterious perspective and the effect of 
indescribable grandeur. 

As a handmaiden to architecture, the Egyptians developed 
a system of sculpture which has also left its impress on the 
world. Viewed with modern eyes, the massive sphinxes and 
colossal statues of the Egyptians seem crude enough, but 
there are other smaller statues in stone and wood which are 
marvels of skill and technical perfection; and from these 
Egyptian beginnings other races developed schools of art 
with which not even those of the moderns can compare. 

Painting, too, was used to decorate and embellish the 
temples. Though the drawing was crude, though the figures 
hardly represent the human form, still there was an apprecia- 
tion of the value of colors in decoration which must win our 
admiration. 

Though originally an agricultural people, even before they 

came into contact with the outside world the Egyptians had 

advanced far in the field of the mechanical arts: they „„ , , 

•^ 23. Indus- 
knew glass blowing, weaving, metal working, stone cut- try and 

ting, in short, the fundamental arts of civilization. For trade 

along time their products were enjoyed by the natives only; 

but in time merchants from Syria and beyond entered the 



34 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



land to trade; and soon the markets of the known world 
were full of the products of Egyptian workmen. At last, the 
Egyptians learned to adventure into foreign lands ; caravans 
were fitted out, and ships were built which carried their goods 

to the farthest 
corners of the 
ancient world. 
When the king- 
dom finally went 
down before the 
conqueror, the 
Egyptian had 
not lived in vain. 
Even to-day, 
Egyptian civilization is not lost ; it is embodied in the civiliza- 
tion of all the ages which is the inheritance of our own time. 




4£. 

A Nile Boat. 



Egyptian history reaches back some four thousand years or 
more before the birth of Christ. Its first records are embodied 
24. Sum- ^^ ^^^® work of the pyramid builders, of whom King 
mary Cheops was the greatest. Of the later kings, the most 

famous are Thothmes III., the great conqueror, and Ramses II., 
pharaoh in the days of the Hittite wars. Between them and 
the earlier kings lies the period of the Hyksos invasion. From 
the days of Eamses the kingdom slowly declined till in the end 
it became the prey of one foreign conqueror after another. 

Of Egyptian civilization, the chief records are to be found 
in the great temples and tombs of the kings. Though the 
literature is extensive and interesting, the most noteworthy 
work of this most ancient people is the system of architecture 
and art which they developed. The industrial world, too, is 
under. a heavy debt to these early dwellers in the valley of the 
Nile, for many of the mechanical arts had their beginnings 
here. 



THE EGYPTIANS 



35 



TOPICS 

(1) Why do we not study about the Chinese mstead of the Suggestive 
Egyptians? Why is Egyptian civilization important for us? °^^^^ 
(2) What was the first building material ? Why does building in 
stone denote an advanced state of civilization ? (3) How do 
records of early Egyptian history compare with early records of the 
history of United States ? (4) Find in your Bibles the references 
to the Hittites and the Egyptians, and the story of Moses. 
(5) Compare the organization and divisions of our army with 
those of the Egyptian army. (6) Do you know of any race to-day 
which holds animals sacred ? (7) Compare the Egyptian burial of 
the dead with that of our Indians. (8) Why did the Egyptians 
trade with the nations of the east rather than with those of the 
west? 

(9) Description of an Egyptian temple. (10) How were the 
pyramids built? (11) A visit to a museum of Egyptian antiqui- 
ties. (12) The life of Ramses II. (13) The Nile in ancient 
Egypt. 



Search 
topics 



REFERENCES 



See maps, pages 15, 24. 

Lenormant and Chevallier, 3Ianiial of the Ancient History of 
the East, bk. iii. ; Boughton, History of Ancient Peoples, pt. iii. ; 
Philip Smith, Ancient History of the East, bk. i. ; Maspero, Dawn 
of Civilization, chs. i.-vi. — Struggle of the Nations, chs. i. 
iii.-v. — Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria, chs. i.-x. — Manual 
of Egyptian Archeology ; Sayce, The Ancient Empires of the 
East, ch. i. — The Egypt of the Hebrews and Herodotos, — Early 
Israel and the Surrounding Nations, ch. v.; Petrie, History of 
Egypt ; Rawlinson, Story of Ancient Egypt ; Duncker, History 
of Antiquity, bk. i., bk. iv. chs. iii. iv. xiii. xvL; McCurdy, His- 
tory, Prophecy, and the Monuments, bk. iii. ch. ii., bk. vi. ch. viii., 
bk. ix. ch. vi.; Wilkinson, The Planners and Customs of the 
Ancient Egyptians. 

Turin Papyrus — a list of kings — edited by Champollion ; in- 
scriptions and records from the monuments in Records of the Past, 
especially in vols. IV. VI. VII. passim ; Herodotus, bk. ii. ; Di- 
odorus, bk. i.; Old Testament (consult a concordance). 

G. Ebers, The Sisters, — Uarda, — An Egyptian Princess; G. M. 
Royce, The Son of Amram. 

Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art in Ancient Egypt. 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



Pictures 



CHAPTEK III. 

BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA: THE KINGDOMS OF THE 
TIGRIS-EUPHRATES VALLEY 

The beginnings of the kingdom of the lower Tigris-Euphrates 

valley, called Chaldeea or Babylonia, like those of Egypt, are 

25 D f shrouded in mystery ; but full four thousand five hun- 

historyin dred years before the birth of Christ, the land was 

a y oma inj^abited by a race called the Sumerians, and Akkadians, 

who had developed a distinct civilization. They had learned 

how to write, and thus to keep a record of their doings, 

how to build permanent dwellings, and how to cultivate the 

ground ; they may even have carried on a maritime trade in 

the Persian Gulf. 

Sometime about 4000 e.g., these Sumerians were conquered 
by a horde of savage tribes, the Semites, who invaded the land 
. probably from the deserts of Arabia, conquered the peoj)le, and 
gradually adopted their civilization. For another thousand 
years no sustained records of the history of the land exist. 
Here and there in that long period some fragmentary accounts 
of the doings of the people are found; thus, for instance, 
we know of a king, Sargon, who ruled the land about 3800 e.g. 
and conquered some of the people about him ; but, in the 
present state of our knowledge, it is useless to try to give a 
sustained account of the history of the land. 

From 3000 e.g., the records are more complete, but even then, 
during another two thousand years, there are many gaps which 
must be filled up by conjecture. In those two thousand years, 
many changes and revolutions took place ; kings and rulers 
followed one another, conquerors — among them the Elamites — 
came and went or were absorbed into the native race. The one 

36 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 



37 



thing of vital importance during that period was that the 
Babylonians were steadily developing a civilization. 

In 1125 B.C., wdien we take up the story again, Babylonia 
has ceased to be the dominant kingdom of the valley ; Assyria, 
the land of the north, has taken the chief place. In ^q xiglath- 
1125 B.C., the hrst of the great Assyrian conquerors, Pileserl.: 
Tiglath-Pileser I., ascended the throne ; year after year Assyrian 
he carried forward his conquests, till before he died he conqueror 
had built up an empire which stretched from the Black Sea 
to the lower valley of the Euphrates, from the highlands of 




Lands conquered by the Assyrians, 1125 to 668 b.c. 



Iran to the Mediterranean. Tiglath-Pileser was a typical 
conqueror of antiquity. Without pity for those who opposed 
him, with fullness of mercy for those who were willing to 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. .3 



38 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



nazirpal 
and his son 
(885-824 
B.C.) 

Records of 
the Past, 
1st ser. III. 
p. 72 

their 



accept his rule, his greatest ambition was to reign over all 
the peoples of the earth. Full of the wildest animal spirits, 
he went from land to land, seeking wqw fields of conquest; 
yet what he conquered, he brought to the feet of his gods, 
and thus sought to honor himself and his people. 

What Tiglath-Pileser built soon fell to pieces, and then fol- 
lowed two hundred years during which the history of Assyria 
27. Assur- ^^ almost entirely lost. In 885 b.c, Assurnazirpal became 

king; like Tiglath-Pileser, he began at once a career of 

conquest; soon he had crossed 

the Euphrates and proceeded iirto 

Syria. "All the kings of the 

land came to me," he says, 

" and embraced my feet : I took 
hostages in my hand." For 
many years both he and his son car- 
ried on war in Syria and in Babylonia, 
but as yet no permanent successes 
were attained; in the end their glory 
faded as had the glory of many others 
before them, and the kingdom once 
more fell into decay. 

' Seventy -nine years later, with the ac- 
cession of Tiglath-Pileser II. (745 e.g.), 
28 Age of hegins a new era in the history of western Asia. 

Assyrian tofore, kings had been content to invade and plunder 

conquerors o • ^ ^ . ^ 

(745-668 loreign lands, without making any ertort to organize 

BC-) their conquests as part of the Assyrian realm. With 

Tiglath-Pileser II. all this changed; first, he reorganized 

his own kingdom, and then he undertook the conquest of 

Babylonia and Syria, annexing large parts of those countries 

to his dominions. He was also the first to adopt a new mode 

of making war which all later Assyrian kings employed: 

the practice of transporting subjugated races. Though the 




Assurnazirpal. 
Relief in British Museum. 

Here- 



BABYLONIxV AND ASSYRIA 39 

practice must have resulted in untold suffering, it had far- 
reaching effects ; for by it the civilization which had been 
growing up in the valley of the Euphrates for thousands of 
years was spread over many lands and among many races. 

After Tiglath-'Pileser II., the next great Assyrian king was 
Sargon 11. (721-705 B.C.). Like all the kings before him, he 
carried on unceasing w^ar; yet he was more than a perfect 
field marshal ; he was a great statesman, Avho chose the 
proper moment for each campaign, who saw just what limits 
w^ere possible for his empire, and organized the conquered 
countries either as provinces with Assyrian governors, or as 
tributary states under native kings. 

Upon his death, the throne was occupied by his son, Sen- 
nacherib. War, unceasing war, was still the ride. In Syria, 
Sennacherib had but little success ; but in Babylonia he car- 
ried to a successful close the war which his ancestors had 
been waging on the older kingdom for seven hundred years. 
In 688 B.C., the city of Babylon was finally taken and razed to 
the ground; the people were transplanted, and the temples 
totally destroyed. 

Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib, is, in many ways, the 
noblest of all his race. Instead of cherishing hatred against 
the Babylonians, he rebuilt for them their ancient city, and 
gathered the x)eople back into the land. In his time, the 
Assyrian arms were carried even into Egypt ; within a few 
years, he met and overcame all opposition in the valley of the 
Nile ; and when he resigned the throne to his son, all Egypt 
from the delta to the land beyond Thebes acknowledged the 
Assyrian as king. 

With the reign of Esarhaddon, the line of Assyrian conquer- 
ors came to an end. The empire which he resigned to £9. Assur- 
his son, Assurbanipal, extended from the upper Nile banipal.the 
eastward to an indefinite line somewhere on the plateau king(668- 
of Iran, from the highlands of Armenia south to the 626 B.C.) 



40 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



Persian Gulf. Centuries of war had now sapped the energies 
of the Assyrians, and in the long reign of Assurbanipal much 
of the empire was lost : Egypt and the plateau of Iran became 
free, and even in Babylonia rebellion was rife. 

Nevertheless, the world owes to Assurbanipal one of its 
richest possessions, for he gathered at his capital, Nineveh, 
the great library of terra-cotta cylinders 
from which we have learned most of 
what we know of the civilization of the 
Tigris-Euphrates valley. Eor forty-two 
years Assurbanipal ruled in the land, 
and, though the empire was showing 
unmistakable signs of dissolution, within 
the kingdom literature and art were 
flourishing, trade and commerce were 
eagerly pursued, and Assurbanipal 
might well call himself the favorite 
of the gods. 

Within twenty years after the death 
of Assurbanipal, however, the Assyrian 

30. Baby- realm had ceased to exist. In 

Ionian and ^^^ ^j^^ j^^g^g ^^ Medm and 

Persian ' 

conquest Babylonia moved against the As- 
syrian kingdom ; in 606, the city of 
Nineveh was besieged and taken, the 
king was burned in his palace, and the 
population of the land was dispersed, 
established a new empirCj which ran its brief course of 
greatness under the far-famed king, Nebuchadnezzar, who 
ruled from 604 to 562 b.c. He it was who rebuilt the city 
of Babylon on a scale which made it one of the wonders of 
the ancient world; he it was who conquered the last kings of 
Judah and carried the people as captives to Babylon. 

Meanwhile a newer and fresher race than the Babylonians 




Nebuchadnezzar. 
From a boundary stoue. 

In the south was 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 41 

had already begun its career of conquest, and within a genera- 
tion after Nebuchadnezzar died, both Babylonia and Assyria 
were added to the dominions of Cyrus, the great Persian king 

(538 B.C.). 

To understand Babylonian civilization we must go far back 
into the ages when the lower valley of the Euphrates was 
inhabited by the Sumerians. From these beginnings, 3L^Baby- 
during several thousand years it was slowly developed ^^^^^^ ^^^_ 
till it reached its climax in the days just before the ilization 
Persian conquest. The Assyrians had no civilization which 
strictly can be called their own ; what they transmitted in the 
days of the great conquerors to the races of Syria was the cul- 
ture which they had learned from their southern neighbors. 

The kings of Babylonia and Assyria, unlike the kings of 
Egypt, claimed for themselves no divine origin. Nevertheless 
they stood to the people as the vicegerents of the gods 33 Govern- 
on earth, and, as such, were restrained by no earthly mentjnd 
power. Both kingdoms were the result of the union of 
a number of smaller states, and as a consequence, below the 
king of the united lands, stood a class of petty monarchs who 
ruled in their own right, though they owed a close allegiance 
to their sovereign lord, the king. 

At the court of the king, numerous officials relieved the 
monarch of many of the burdensome duties of his office, and 
at the same time aided him with their counsel whenever he 
demanded it. In the provinces, many governors administered 
affairs in the name of the king and were responsible to him 
for the tribute and the peace of the conquered lands. 

In war, the king was aided by a field marshal and a number 
of lieutenants under whom the army was carefully organized. 
Highest in the service 'were the charioteers, who usually went 
into battle accompanied by a driver and a military attendant ; 
their weapons of offense were the bow and arrow, sometimes 
the javelin. In this arm of the service, only the nobles 



42 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 




Stringing an Assyrian Bow. 
From ruiDS of Nineveh. 



enlisted, for the commoners could scarcely afford to supply 
themselves with tlie necessary equipment. The infantry, re- 
cruited largely from 
the freemen of the 
land, was universally 
armed with bow and 
arrows ; the archers 
had little protective 
armor. In military 
science, in the art 
of besieging cities, 
in the transport of 
armies, the Assyrians 
were adepts; upon their military genius depended the great 
empire which they built up and maintained for so many years. 
The religions of Babylonia and Assyria had their beginnings 
in the religions of the numerous smaller states out of which 

««.,.,.. the united kingdoms 
33. Religion ^ 

grew; hence it is im- 
possible to get a complete 
idea of the systems as a 
whole. In general, both na- 
tions recognized two opposing 
influences in the world: the 
evil principle represented by 
the demons ; and the good 
principle represented by the 
gods. Of both kinds there 
were more than we can enu- 
merate. Chief among the gods 
were three: Ann, lord of the 
heavens; Bel, lord of the 
earth ; and Ea, lord of the underworld and tlie waters of the 
earth. Below these were lesser deities, especially Sin, god 




DEMONS Contending. 
From ruins of Nineveh. 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 43 

of the moon; Samas, god of the sun; and I star (the Ashtaroth 

of the Bible), goddess of fniitfuhiess and reproductivity. The 

entire national life was centered about the worship of the 

gods ; to them the king ascribed his successes in war ; in their 

honor, temples were built ; every man from the lowest to the 

highest stood in abject terror before their shrines. They 

were an ever-present force in the life of all the people in a way 

that no man of to-day can appreciate. 

The thing that distinguishes the Babylonian religion from 

that of most other ancient nations, and the thiug that gives 

their theology especial interest in our eyes, is the fact 34. Astron- 

that the w^orship of the gods was closely connected with <^°^y f'^^i *^e 
i- ^ -' other sci- 

the observation of the stars. To each of the greater ences 

divinities was assigned one of the planets, and consequently, 
a knowledge of the movements of the heavenly bodies be- 
came one of the primary duties of the priests. Eclipses of 
the sun and moon, the movements of planets and comets, the 
relative positions of the stars, were carefully noted and plotted 
on charts. Thus grew up an extensive system of astrology and 
astronomy -which constitutes the foundation upon which are 
built our modern science of astronomy and our present mode of 
reckoning time by weeks, days, hours, and minutes. Although 
in other sciences, especially in medicine, the Babylonians were 
far behind the Egyptians, still their contributions to astronomy 
make them one of the most important races of all history. 

Since the Babylonians dwelt in a flat country where stone 
was extremely difficult to procure, they seldom used any build- 
ing material other than brick ; and hence they never gg Archi- 
equaled the dw^ellers in the Nile valley as builders, tecture and 
Their structures were often of immense size, but they 
could not equal in durability the temples of the Egyptians. 

The temples of the Babylonians were built in a series of re- 
ceding stories, often reaching to an extreme height. The walls 
of these temples were elaborately ornamented with sculpture. 



44 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 




Babylonian Brick. 

The king's Dame and titles were inscribed on 
eacli brick. 



carved on thin slabs of stone which were brought with great 
difficulty from the quarries to the far north or from Arabia. 

The Assyrians devoted 
most of their energy to 
the building of palaces, 
but, though in their land 
stone was easily pro- 
cured, they never ad- 
vanced beyond construc- 
tion in brick, the mode 
of building which they 
had learned from the 
Babylonians. The pal- 
aces, built upon natural 
or artificial hills, con- 
sisted of vast series of 
halls arranged about a 
court; the walls were ornamented, like the walls of the 
Babylonian temples, with sculptured slabs of stone, illustra- 
ting the wars and the deeds of prowess of the kings. From 
the sculptures we learn 



much of what we know of 
the history of the northern 
race. 

The same defects are to 
be seen in the sculpture 
of the Assyrians and Baby- 
lonians as were noted in 
the sculpture of the Egyp- 
tians. Knowledge of per- 
spective is lacking, and the 
figures of men, especially 

among the Assyrians, are universally stiff and conventional, 
with immensely exaggerated limbs and muscles. In carving 




Lion from Palace of Assurnazirpal. 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYKIA 45 

the figures of animals, the artists were more successful ; often 
the sculptured lions and lesser beasts approached very close 
to the living models in grace and spirit. The most character- 
istic sculpture is that of the enormous human-headed bull, 
fit emblem of the vigorous Assyrian race. 

The records of the Babylonians and Assyrians, like those of 
the Egyptians, are preserved both in inscriptions and in books. 
Their system of writing, originally hieroglyphic, had 
lost, in historic times, its original form ; the new system, guage and 
known as cuneiform writing, consisted of a number of ^ ®^^ ^^® 
wedge-shaped characters arranged in various combinations to 
express syllabic sounds. Neither race ever succeeded in in- 

Cuneiform Writing. 
Translation : I am Assurbanipal, descendant of Assnr and Beltis. 

venting a system of writing which, like our modern alphabet 
or like the Egyptian hieroglyphics, should represent single 
sounds. In these cuneiform characters, the chroniclers of the 
kings inscribed on the walls of the palaces, or preserved on 
clay tablets, the doings of the nation and the fund of knowl- 
edge which they had inherited from their ancestors. These 
clay tablets, the books of the Babylonians and Assyrians, still 
exist in large numbers. They were originally gathered in 
libraries and carefully guarded from generation to generation 
till the very races ceased to exist ; and the art of reading the 
characters had to be rediscovered bit by bit. 

While the hterature of the Tigris-Euphrates valley can 
scarcely be compared to that of many other nations, it contains 
much that is still interesting. The books which dealt with 
astronomy, for instance, were many in number, and led the 
way for all future investigation in the subject. Outside of 
divination, a large part of the literature was purely religious 



46 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 




Assyrian Drill Plow. 
From a monument of Esarliaddon. 



commerce 



in character : hymns in praise of the gods, myths and legends 
of their doings in heaven and on earth, accounts of the dealings 

of gods with men, all engage 
the interest of the authors. 
Many legends of the creation 
of man, stories of a universal 
flood, and accounts of the 
deeds of the heroes of the 
nation are preserved ; and it 
is interesting to note that some of them correspond very 
closely to the stories of the book of Genesis in our Bible. 

In the manufacture of fabrics and in the mechanical arts, the 
Babylonians were worthy rivals of the Egyptians. Besides 
the agricultural population, weavers, dyers, tanners, gold, 
try and silver, and copper smiths, and stone cutters formed a con- 

siderable part of the common people. Even if it is true 
that they were behind the Egyptians in the arts of peace, the 
influence of their civilization on the rest of the world has been 
greater; for, while the Egyptians during the major part of 
their history remained completely isolated, the Babylonians 
were in constant communication with the other nations of the 
ancient world. Further- 
more, what the mer- 
chants could not carry 
to and from the land, 
the warriors spread in 
the course of their con- 
quests. Important sys- 
tems of highways lead- 
ing from the Euphrates 

valley to the east and west were established; and the Baby- 
lonians developed the law of contracts, the coinage of money, 
banking, a fixed system of credits, and all the other adjuncts 
of trade and warfare. 




Assyrians drawing a Handcart. 
From the ruins of Nineveh. 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 47 

In time, all this knowledge was transmitted by the Phoeni- 
cians to the nations of southern Europe, and it is this fact 
that gives a greater interest to the civilization of the Tigris- 
Euphrates valley than to that of the jSlile. The modern world 
owes more to Babylonia than to Egypt, because the civiliza- 
tion of Babylonia was more widely diffused. 



The valley of the Tigris and Euphrates was inhabited in 
ancient times by two great Semitic nations, — the Babylonians 
and the Assyrians. The Babylonians, the southern na- 33 ^^^_ 
tion, were by far the older of the two. From them, the mary 

Assyrians learned nearly everything that they transmitted to 
the western world, in the age of the great conquerors from 
Tiglath-Pileser I. to Esarhaddon (1125-668 b.c). From 
Babylonia and Assyria, much more than from Egypt, the 
western world learned the arts of peace and war. First among 
their contributions was the science of astronomy ; but astronomy 
was not their only gift : the Phoenicians and Greeks of later 
times owed to them much of what they knew of the processes 
of manufacture and of the methods of carrying on trade; and 
the student of their civilization is often surprised to see how 
very modern these men of three or four thousand years ago 
were in many of their ways. 

TOPICS 

(1) Compare the early history of Babylonia with that of Egypt. Suggestive 
(2) Get from the Bible the stories of Nimrod, Hoshea, and Nebu- 
chadnezzar. (3) What object had Tiglath-Pileser in transplanting 
conquered peoples ? Can you recall any instance of this practice 
in the history of your own country ? (4) How does Babylonian- 
Assyrian civilization, in its rise and fall, compare with Egyptian ? 
(5) Compare the religion of Babylonia and Assyria with that of 
Egypt, (6) Compare the religious life of the Babylonians and 
Assyrians with that of the Jews. (7) What other nations had a 
story of the flood ? (8) Why is the study of the industries and 
civilization of the Babylonians and Assyrians of more importance 
to us than the study of those of the Egyptians ? 



topics 



48 



ORIENTAL HIST(3RY 



Search 
topics 



(0) An account of the unearthing of an Assyrian building. 
(10) Account of the finding of a Babylonian library. (11) As- 
syrian prayers. (12) Babylonian temples. (13) Ancient accounts 
of Nineveh. (14) Ancient accounts of Babylon. (15) The As- 
syrian winged bulls. 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 
Pictures 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 15, o7. 

Lenormant and Chevallier, Manual of the Ancient History of the 
East, bk. iv. ; Boughton, History of Ancient Peoples, pt. iv. ch. 
iv. ; Philip Smith, Ancient History of the East, bk. ii. ; Maspero, 
Dawn of Civilization, chs. vii.-ix. — Life in Ancient Egypt 
and Assyria, chs. xi.-xx. — Passing of the Empires, chs. i.-v. — 
Struggle of the Nations, chs. i.-vi. ; Rogers, History of Babylonia 
and Assyria; Ragozin, Story of Assyria, — Story of Chaldcea, — 
Story of Media, Babylon, and Persia ; Sayce, The Ancient Empires 
of the East, ch. ii. — Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations, 
chs. vi. vii. — Assyria, its Princes, Priests, and People, — Social 
Life among the Assyrians and Babylonians, — Babylonians and As- 
syrians : Life and Customs ; G. Smith, Assyria, — History of Baby- 
lonia ; Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies, books on Chaldsea, 
Assyria, and Babylonia ; Budge, Babylonian Life and History ; 
Duncker, History of Antiquity, bk. ii. chs. i.-iii., bk. iii. chs. i. ii. 
xiii., bk. iv. chs. i. iv.-ix, xii. xiv. xv. ; Lenormant, The Beginnings 
of History (consult contents); McCurdy, History, Prophecy, and 
the Monuments, bks. ii. iv. vi. viii. x. xi. 

Inscriptions from the monuments in Becords of the Past, edited 
by Sayce, New Series, vols. I. IL 

Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art in Chaldcea and Assyria. 




A Book from the Royal Library at Nineveh. 
Baked clay cylinder covered with cuneiform writing. 



CHAPTER lY 



THE PHCENICIANS 



THE DISSEMINATORS OF ORIENTAL 
CIVILIZATION 



The natural meeting place between Egypt and Assyria, as 
we have seen, was the narrow strip of territory lying between 
the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian desert. In this 
land lived a number of Semitic tribes, two of which, the 

Hebrews and the Phoenicians, are 
among the most important races in 
all history. 

According to the Bible, Abra- 
ham, the forefather of the Hebrews, 
wandered forth out of Baby- 39 Ti^g 
Ionia and settled in the land Hebrews 
of Canaan in Syria. Two genera- 
tions later, his grandson Jacob mi- 
grated into Egypt, where he and his 
descendants abode for several cen- 
turies. Under Moses the people, now 
a considerable nation, were led forth 
from Egypt and ultimately made 
their way back into Canaan, where they settled as twelve tribes. 
At first these twelve tribes lived a life apart from one another, 
but about the middle of the eleventh century b.c, Saul was 
created king. Both Saul and his son Jonathan died in battle, 
and David succeeded to the throne. David was the greatest 
warrior that the race produced. Slowly but surely he rid the 
land of all its enemies, and when he died he left to his son 
Solomon a well-organized kingdom. In Solomon's time peace 

40 




Hebrew High Priest. 



50 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 




w 



CYPRUS;^ 









The Temple at Jerusalem. (Restoration.) 

reigned in the land and many noble monuments, especially the 
temple at Jerusalem, were erected to commemorate his glory. 

From Solomon's time on, how- 
ever, the power of the Hebrews 
rapidly declined: the land of 
Canaan was divided into the two 
kingdoms of Judah and Israel, 
and, like the rest of Syria, finally 
fell a prey to the conquerors of 
the Tigris-Euphrates valley. 

To this race, few and weak 
in comparison with its mighty 
neighbors, the world owes its 
greatest gift, the idea of one God, 
the Creator and E-uler of the 
universe. While most of the 
nations about them were still 
sunk in sodden nature worship. 



■>> >^ 






f. Nazarttli' 

^^i' /KIN( DUM Ob 



Jeiuv)lciri r ^-> / 

KIM IMJM 



\ah'ar/l 



50 100 150 



The Land of Canaan. 



THE PHCENICIANS 51 

the Hebrews had ah-eacly developed that system of theology 
upon which all the religions of the western world rest to-day. 

Like the Hebrews, the Phoenicians came into Syria from the 
country far to the south and east. Like all the people of 
antiquity, they seem to have migrated in small bands, 40. Sidon 
but unlike most other nations, they never united under tj,^ j ^^f 
the leadership of any one city or tribe. Throughout Phoenicia 
their history they existed as separate and independent 
cities. Earliest among the cities to attain to prominence was 
" Sidon, first born of Canaan." For a century or two Genesis 
she maintained her preeminence, and then Tyre, which ^- ^^ 

lies twenty miles to the south, gradually drew the mastery 
to herself. 

In the period of the greatness of Sidon, the Phoenicians had 
already become famed throughout the eastern Mediterranean 
as the traders of the world. In the beginning, the people had 
probably ventured out to sea in search of the fish which 
abounded along the coast ; in time, they became more venture- 
some, and before many centuries had passed, they were wander- 
ing among the islands and along the coasts o^ the ^gean and 
Black seas in quest of the many natural products — copper, 
iron, gold, lumber, and fish — which were plentiful in these 
regions. Ere the glory of Sidon faded before the rising sun 
of Tyre, the Phoenicians had established themselves on the 
island of Cyprus, along the southern coast of Asia Minor, in 
the islands of the iEgean, in Crete, and along the shores of 
Greece. 

Whatever advantages the Phoenicians gained in these regions, 
the Greeks, their pupils, wrested from them sometime after the 
twelfth and eleventh centuries b.c. Still, what the navigators 
lost in the east, they gained in the west ; under the leadership 
of Tyre, ships began to push their w^ay into the waters of 
Sicily, of northern Africa, even to the Iberian peninsula and 
the Atlantic Ocean. Gades, the modern city of Cadiz, was 



THE PHCENICIANS 



53 



settled by the PhcBniciaiis in 1130 b.c, so the story runs; and 
from this colony, traders ventured north to the British Isles, 
and south to the Cape Verde Islands and to the Gold Coast of 
Africa,. 

Of Phoenician history in all these years, we have no records. 
Not till the tenth century b.c. do we begin to get authentic 
information, and even then the story is drawn largely 41. Scant 
from the records of the neighboring nations. Most p^^^^^ian 
famous among the rulers of Phoenicia in this new period history 

was Hiram I. (969-936 b.c), the king of Tyre who assisted 
Solomon in the building of his temple. Por a hundred and 
fifty years Tyre led the world in the extent of her trade. In 
her markets were to be 
found metals from Spain 
and Britain, slaves and 
copper from the Black 
Sea, purple dye from the 
Levant, grain and wool 
from Palestine, ivory and 
spices from the east, and 
linen cloths from Egypt. 
Here the merchants 
brought the raw materials 

of the west, and exchanged them for the finished products of 
the east, and thus was the civilization of the Orient spread 
from the Black Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar. 

The decline of the Phoenicians began with the great forays 
of the Assyrians in the eighth century b.c. Year after year, 
the hosts of the conquerors devastated the land. The Persians 
soon followed and still further harried Phoenicia, till in the 
end the trade of the Mediterranean passed from the Phoeni- 
cians to the Greeks in the east, and to the Carthaginians, who 
were colonists of Tyre, in the west. 

Standing midway between the Egyptians and the Assyrians, 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 4 




.Shells of the Sea Snail from which 
THE Purple Dye was made. 



54 ORIENTAL HISTORY 

the Phoenicians adopted, almost without change, most of the 
culture of the older races. In religion and in art, they fol- 
lowed the Assyrians closely, though Egyptian influences 

42. Phceni- , . . . ^ „....,.. 

cianartand are to be seen even m these branches oi their civilization. 

culture Still, they were not slavish imitators ; their buildings 

and their sculpture show many improvements over those of 
their masters. 

So little of Phoenician literature has been preserved, that it 
is impossible to render any judgment on its general merits. 
In one branch, however, they certainly excelled : in the descrip- 
tion of voyages and the lands they visited. Most famous of 
such accounts is the "Voyage of Hanno, King of Carthage, 
round that part of Libya beyond the Straits of Gibraltar," 
Quoted in in which we are told of " a savage people, whose bodies 
Phcinicia' ^^"^^ hairy and whom our interpreters called Gorillae," 
ch.xiii. and of a land " untraversable ou account of the heat." 

The Phoenician alphabet, too, though undoubtedly an adapta- 
tion of some earlier form of writing, had the merit of such great, 
simplicity that it was adopted by all the races of southern 
Europe, by whom it was transmitted to the modern world. 

Yet it is neither for their art nor for their literature, but for 
their ability as merchants, that the Phoenicians are most famous. 
43 Tr d Ranging from the plateau of Iran to the islands of the 
and com- Atlantic in quest of trade, these Englishmen of antiquity 
^^^^^ gathered their raw materials, converted them into 

finished products, and sold them again at an advanced price. 
Though the trade was carried on largely by sea, yet they 
received many of their commodities by overland routes. Cross- 
ing the mountains by the passes which led into Palestine and 
the plains beyond, they followed the natural highways into 
Assyria and the highlands of Armenia ; or they turned south 
into Arabia and Babylonia, going even beyond to the highlands 
of Iran. 

On sea, the Phoenicians were in their prime absolute mas- 



THE PHCENICIANS 



55 




Phcenician Merchant Ship. 



ters. In the beginning, their ships were little more than rude 
canoes ; but in course of time they contrived larger craft, pro- 
pelled by oars. When the wind was favorable a sail was 
raised ; when the wind failed or blew from the wrong quarter, 
the sail was furled and the oars 
were shipped again. In this way 
journeys which carried the Phoeni- 
cian sailors from one end of the 
Mediterranean to the other were 
accomplished in two or three 
weeks — marvelously rapid time 
for the days in which they 
lived. 

Wherever the Phoenicians went, they established themselves 
in colonies for the purpose of trading with the natives. Lust 
for land, they did not know ; only so much territory was 44 coloni- 
taken as was necessary for the landing of ships and the zation 

display of goods. Consequently, the colonies were universally 
located near the coast, as often as possible on islands lying a 
few miles from the mainland. Here their warehouses were 
established and the shrines of their gods set up ; then the 
natives were invited to come and view their goods, and finished 
products — cloth, cutlery, arms, wine, and oil — were bartered 
for raw materials. Only when the mainland offered opportuni- 
ties for gathering raw materials or for mining which the natives 
did not improve, did the Phoenicians venture inland. 

All their secrets of trade were guarded by the Phoenicians 

from the rest of the world ; yet it is impossible to suppose that 

centuries could go by without the nations with whom .. _,. 

» ^ 45.Disseini- 

they bartered acquiring many of the inventions which nation of 
the Phoenicians had learned from the older races of 
Asia and Africa, or which they had discovered for themselves. 
In the western Mediterranean, it was ages before a race arose 
skillful enough to rival these Phoenicians ; even after the cities 



culture 



56 



ORIENTAL HISTORY 



of Plicjenicia proper had fallen into decay, the Tyrian colony 
of Carthage maintained its supremacy for several centuries. 
In the east, however, the Phoenicians came into contact with 
a race which learned more rapidly ; in Greece, they found a 
people who were eager to adopt all the arts and civilization 
which the Phoenicians themselves had learned from earlier 
g -^ a teachers. By the tenth 

= I: = -J I S "^ century b.c. the greatness 

of Phoenicia had passed ; 
but the Semitic Phoenician 
had taught the Aryan 
Greek all that he could 
of the civilization which 
had been developing dur- 
ing three thousand years 
in the east ; and the 
task of building further 
the structure of human 
knowledge was resigned to a race newer and more progressive 
even than the clever Phoenicians. 



Il 


II 


8 
Si 


< 


c 


^ 
w 


^ 


^^ 


^ 


AA 


A^ 


A 


ra 


fa 


A 


^/^ 


" 


E 


H 


H 


7 


irn 


V P 


p 


<r> 


<=>> 


<] 


<>^? 


l?P 


R 


Mr 


^ 


W 


^iS 


Si 


S 



Development of the Alphabet. 



The history of Phcenicia is the history of the dissemination 
of oriental civilization throughout the west, a work in which 

46 Sum- *^^® citizens of Sidon and Tyre took the most active part. 

mary The first great navigators, they were also the first great 

traders. The merchants of these two cities ranged the earth 
in search of trade, carrying with them the civilization of the 
east; teaching, unwillingly enough, the races with whom 
they traded the wisdom which the men of the Orient had 
learned in the ages past. Of all their pupils, the Greeks were 
the most apt ; by the tenth century b.c, they, and not the 
Phoenicians, were masters of the trade of the eastern Medi- 
.terranean; they, and not the Phoenicians, had become the 
teachers. Henceforth, our story is the story of how these 



THE PHCENICIANS 



57 



topics 



Greeks developed what they had learned from their former 

masters. 

TOPICS 

(1) What does the Bible say about the Phoenicians ; about Solo- Suggestive 
uion ; about Tyre ? (2) Why did city republics thrive in Phoenicia 
and not in Babylonia and Assyria '? (3) What did the Phoeni- 
cians do differently from the Babylonians and Assyrians which 
makes their history of importance to the world ? (4) With what 
modern nation can you compare the Phoenicians ? What are the 
points of similarity ? (5) What means of conveyance did the 
Phoenicians use on overland routes ? (6) How do modern ships 
sail against the wind ? (7) If other nations had derived nothing 
from the Phoenicians, should we be interested in their history ? 
Give your reasons. 

(8) Traces of the Phoenicians in Britain. (9) Phoenician settle- 
ments in Spain. (10) Origin of the Phoenician alphabet. (11) The 
origin of glass making. (12) The principal products of Phoenicia. 
(18) Where was Ophir ? (14) The captivity of the Jews at Baby- 
lon. (15) The sojourn of the Jews in Egypt, and their flight. 



Search 
topics 



REFERENCES 
See maps, pp. 12, 15, 50, 52. 



Geography 



Modern 
authorities 



Lenormant and Chevallier, A Manual of the Ancient History 
of the East, bk. vi.; Boughton, History of Ancient Peoples, pt. iv. 
ch. ii. ; Philip Smith, Ancient History of the East, bk. iii. chs. xxix. 
XXX.; Maspero, Struggle of the Nations, chs. ii. vi.; Rawlinson, 
Phoenicia, — Story of Phoenicia ; Duncker, History of Antiquity, 
bk. iii. chs. iii. xi. xii. ; Sayce, The Ancient Empires of the East, 
c!i. iii.; Encyclopcedia Britannica, Phoenicia; Lenormant, The 
Beginnings of History (consult contents and appendix ii.) ; Kent, 
History of the Hebrew People, — History of the Jeicish People ; 
Hosmer, Sto7'y of the Jews. 

Strabo, bk. xvi. ch. ii. §§21-33 ; Thucydides, bk. i. chs. 8, 13, Sources 
in, 100, bk. viii. chs. 81, 87 ; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 
bk. viii. chs. 3, 5. ; Old Testament ; The Voyage of Hanno, trans- 
1 ited by Thomas Falconer. 

E. L. Arnold, Phra the Phoenician ; L. Cahun, The Adventures 
of Captain Mago. 

Perrot and Chipiez, History of Ancient Art in Phoenicia and pictiires 
her Dependencies. 



Illustrative 
works 




59 



CHAPTER V. 
THE DAWN OF GREEK CIVILIZATION 

Beyond the JEgean Sea, all but connected with Asia Minor 
by numerous islands, lies the country which we are next to 
study. If we hope to understand the history of this won- 
land of derful country, we must not for a moment forget these 

the Greeks igia^i-^^is ; though many of them are barren, they are so 
near together that the sailor may still run from Asia to Europe 
without losing sight of land ; and, in antiquity, visible land- 
marks were almost essential for navigation, 

Greece itself, though no two points in its whole area lie 
farther apart than New York and Boston, is one of the most 
diversified countries in the world. It is so penetrated by arms 
of the sea that it has been described as " a mountain country 
up to its knees in water." The peninsula is cut off from the 
lands to the north by the Cambunian Mountains, which rise to 
their greatest height near their eastern end in the peak known 
as Mount Olympus, the traditional home of the Greek gods. 
Almost at the foot of the peak is the Vale of Tempe, a gresit 
mountain gorge, the most important entrance to Greece, and 
therefore the key to the country by land. 

The peninsula is divided by nature into three parts : north- 
ern, central, and southern Greece. In the north, the only im- 
portant country is Thessaly, a rich, well-watered plain inclosed 
by mountains. From Thessaly the road to central Greece ran 
through the narrow pass of Thermopylse, famous for many 
hard-fought battles. 

Central Greece, for the most part, is a rugged, unattractive 
country. In the west, in Acarnania and ^tolia, the peo})le 

60 



THE DAWN OF GREEK CIVILIZATION 61 

for centuries lagged behind their more progressive eastern 
brethren. East of .Etolia was Phocis, in whose mountains, at 
Delphi, was located the shrine of the god Apollo. Xext came 
Boeotia, the only important lowland countr}^ of central Greece. 
Finally, southeast of Boeotia, like a linger extending into the 
sea, lay Attica, the home of the Athenians. With but little 
land available for agriculture, with the sea lying ever at its feet, 




Vale of Tempe. 

this little peninsula was destined to become the chief seat of 
Hellenic commerce. 

Between central and southern Greece is the Isthmus of 
Corinth, on which were situated two great commercial cities : 
Corinth and Megara. In the peninsula of southern Greece, 
known as the Peloponnesus, the chief country was Laconia, the 
land of the all-conquering Spartans. Besides Laconia, there 
were five other countries in the Peloponnesus : Messenia, a 
fertile district lying in the southwest; Elis, in the west; 
Arcadia, often called the Switzerland of Greece, in the center : 



62 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

Achaia, in the north ; and Argolis, the seat of the earliest Greek 
civilization, in the east. 

If we pause now to survey Greece as a whole, three striking 
features will present themselves. First, with the exception 

48. Signifi- of Thessaly, Boeotia, and Messenia, the country is so 

cant geo- mountainous as to afford but little opportunity for inter- 

graphical ^^ ♦^ 

features nal growth ; consequently, the people were forced to go 

beyond its limits to find occupation and a livelihood for their 

surplus population. Second, though the whole coast was 

irregular, the east coast and the islands offered by far the 

greatest number of safe harbors, and therefore the greatest 

development naturally took place among the Greeks along the 

shores of the ^Egean Sea. Third, many of the countries of 

Greece were so small and so unfavorably located that they 

have small place in history : most of the events of Greek 

history are confined to Thessaly, Boeotia, Attica, Corinthia, 

Argolis, and Laconia. 

In the days before history begins, Greece was covered with 

forests ; wild beasts and scarcely less wild men roamed over 

49. Migra- its whole extent, fighting constantly to maintain a bare 

tions of existence. Into this country, out of the lands north of 

primeval "^ ' 

Hellenes the Black and Caspian seas, came the people whom we 

know in historic times as the Greeks or Hellenes. We have, 
of course, no records of the early wanderings of these Hel- 
lenes; but in various ways we can discover the conditions 
under which these migrations took place. Traveling almost 
entirely on foot, they came driving their herds of half-tamed 
animals before them. Men and women alike were dressed in 
the skins of wild beasts or the hides of cattle or sheep. As 
they marched they engaged in war ; no law restrained them ; 
for them there was no law but the law of might. In the in- 
tervals between their combats they hunted the wild beasts 
of the forest: the lion, the wild bull, and the boar. If 
they settled down for a time, it was without any idea of per- 



THE DAWN OF GREEK CIVILIZATION 63 

manent residence ; rude huts of twigs or tents of skin sufficed 
for dwelling places. Of agriculture they knew only the merest 
rudiments ; their plows were made of sharpened sticks ; the 
seed was spread and left on the surface to die or sprout as 
nature willed; even if it did sprout, the sower had no assur- 
ance that he would enjoy the harvest, since enemies might 
come and take or destroy what he had sown. 

Just when the migrations took place, or how long they lasted, 
no one can tell. We must not imagine, however, that progress 
was rapid ; generations must often have lived and died, with- 
out progress. Backward and forward the people wandered, 
as opportunities for feeding their cattle offered or new hunt- 
ing grounds came into view. Even after many centuries, the 
historian Thucydides tells us: "The people were still Thucijdides, 
migratory, and readily left their homes whenever they *• ^ 

were overpowered by numbers. There was no commerce ; they 
could not safely hold intercourse with each other either by 
land or by sea. The several tribes cultivated the land just 
enough to obtain a maintenance from it, but they had no accu- 
mulations of wealth, and they did not plant the ground; 
for, being without walls, they were never sure that an invader 
might not come and despoil them." 

Sometime about 1500 b.c. "the lordly Phoenicians" Odyssey, 
from the " fair-lying land of Sidon" appeared off the coast ^^"- ^^^ 

of Greece. At first the Greeks received these strangers jng of ^-^^ 
with distrust, but in time they learned to appreciate the Phoenicians 
benefits that might be derived from trade. From the Phoeni- 
cians they learned how to cultivate the ground as they had 
never cultivated it before ; and soon grain, as well as flesh, be- 
came a regular part of their diet. Furthermore, the Phoenician 
brought bronze tools and weapons to sell, and the Greek bought 
eagerly of these new wares, which were very much better than 
the rude stone implements which he had formerly used. With 
the new tools he built himself more permanent dwellings; 



64 



THE KISE 0¥ HELLA8 



with the weapons he easily defended himself against his ene- 
mies and the wild beasts around him. 

All these things tended to make life more settled ; the more 
progressive tribes, especially those along the coast, ceased to 
be nomadic, and the more barbaric tribes of the interior were 
held in check by the superior weapons and the knowledge 
of fortification which the coast tribes had learned from 
the voyagers. Most important of all, however, was the art 

of shipbuilding which the 
strangers left behind them. 
Before long the Greeks began 
to venture out into the ^gean 
Sea in the ships which they 
had copied from Phoenician 
models, and, by the year 1000 
B.C. or thereabouts, they had 
gained possession of the coast 
of Asia Minor. By that time 
the Greeks had ceased to be 
mere barbarians, and had taken 
their place among the civilized 
nations. 

The most famous centers of 
this new civilization were the 
island of Crete, the two cities of Tiryns and Mycenae in 
Argolis, and Orchomenus in Boeotia. On the mainland, Tiryns 
51. The new was probably the most ancient. Here, in a stately 
civilization palace, of which the ruins are still in existence, 
lived a king, surrounded by his nobles and many servants. 
His city, which lay on a low hill back from the gulf, was 
protected by massive walls of unhewn stones. Beyond the 
walls dwelt the common people, over whose lives and labor 
the king had absolute control. 

The remains of Mycenae give evidence of an even higher 




Wall of Tiryns. 



THE DAAVN OF GRP:EK CIVILIZATION 05 

civilization. Among these ruins have been found, not only 
the remnants of ancient walls and palaces, but also the dwell- 
ing houses of the common people and the graves of kings. 
Bronze, silver, and gold were used in great profusion in the 
decoration of the buildings and in the manufacture of arms 
and personal ornaments. The men amused themselves, when 
not engaged in war, in hunting the wild bull, the lion, and the 
boar; the women spent _.. ,.- -, 

their time in spinning 
and in weaving and in 
attending to the wants of 
their lords. Among the 
lower classes were many- 
skilled handicraftsmen ; 
and the evidence of their 
proficiency is abundant 
in the vases, cups, arms, 
and ornaments which 
still exist, and especially 
in the walls and buildings which have long since crumbled 
into ruins. 

These were the times when the heroes of Greek legend 
flourished in the land. Xo one any longer believes that these 
legends are more than a confused and exaggerated tradi- 52. Age of 
tion of events ; still they give us such a notion of what *^® heroes 
the later Greek thought of his early history, that they can- 
not be passed without some notice. First among the heroes 
was Cadmus, a Phoenician prince, Avho is said to have brought 
the alphabet into Greece. Of a later generation of heroes, 
Heracles (p. 70) was most famous : year after year, so the 
story goes, he wandered up and down the land ^^erforming 
marvelous deeds of strength and heroisui. Theseus, another 
hero of the same generation, was most dear to the Athenians ; 
for to him they ascribed the work of uniting all Attica under 




Lion Gate of Mycen^. 



66 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



one government. In northern Greece all the legends centered 
about the Argonautic expedition which was led by Jason, 

a Thessalian prince, in 

search of the golden fleece. 
In Crete, the most famous 
hero was King Minos, a 
descendant of the god 
Zeus. In his time the 
island was terrorized by 
the minotaur, a monster 
which fed on human flesh, 
and only after the monster 
had been entrapped in a 




So-called Theseus. 
From the Parthenon. 



labyrinth which Dsedalus built did the land enjoy peace once 

more. 

As a climax to all the legends, the Greek enjoyed the legend 
of the Trojan war. Sometime in the age when Mycenae was 
the greatest city in Greece, Paris, a son of the Trojan king 
Priam, came to Greece to visit Menelaus, king of Sparta. By 
a decree of the gods, he was incited to' abduct Helen, wife of 
Menelaus, the most beautiful woman in Greece. All Greece 
sprang to arms ; for ten years the siege of Troy went on, till, in 
the end, it fell into the hands of the Greeks, and was destroyed. 
Chief among the heroes of the siege was Achilles, whose deeds 
form the main theme of the great Homeric poem, the Iliad, 
mad a. S^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^® ^^y^ ^^ " Tiryns of the great walls," and 

559, XI. 46 u Mycenae, rich in gold." All this glory passed away, but 

^ '^^f not before the Greeks had spread their civilization to 
Homeric ^ 

age the islands and the coast of Asia Minor beyond. In 

the next centuries, while Greece itself was undergoing the 
throes of a semi-barbaric invasion, the cities of the islands 
and of the coast of Asia Minor were carrying the culture of 
earlier days to a point higher than it had ever reached before. 
Our knowledge of this civilization is derived largely from 



THE DAWN OF GREEK CIVILIZATION 



67 



two poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Besides being the 
two earliest poems in any European language, as well as two 
of the greatest works in all the world's literature, they give 
us a marvelous picture of the times in which they were 
written. In former times, it used to be said that these poems 
were the w^ork of one poet. Nowadays, it is generally ad- 
mitted that they are simply a collection of ballads, chanted 
originally at the courts of kings, gathered together sometime 

before the year 700 b. c, and 
finally ascribed to the genius 
of one man called Homer. 

Chief among the people of 
the Homeric age were the 
kings, "the fosterlings of 
the god Zeus.'' In times 
of peace, they sat in their 
halls, entertaining their 
nobles and judging between the 
people. When time hung 
heavy, they went out to hunt 
or engaged in athletic sports : 
boxin 
foot 




Iliad, u. 196 
54. King 
and govern- 
ment 



HoMKlt. 

National Museum, Naples. 



.j3, wrestling, or running 
races. In war, they 
maintained themselves by plunder, claiming the lion's share 
of all the booty ; in peace, they lived on the produce of their 
ample domains, and on the gifts of the people. If the king 
was wise and powerful, the land was happy and contented ; 
if he was weak or immature, rebellion and anarchy were sure 
to mark his reign. 

Around the king, for the purpose of giving him advice, 
gathered a powerful body of nobles. When the council sat, 
criticism and debate were freely indulged in ; and if the nobles 
felt that the king was wrong, they seldom spared his feelings. 
Yet just how far the council could restrain the king is hard to 



68 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

> 

say ; the strong king, in all probability, acted as lie pleased ; 
the weak ruler was forced to follow the will of his advisers. 

When the council reached a decision, or when the king had 
some important business in which he wanted the support of 
the whole people, the commoners were summoned to a general 
assembly. Here, in the presence of the nobles, the king was 
wont to lay his plans before his subjects: if they approved, 
they shouted their approbation ; if they disapproved, they 
howled and clashed their arms in hate and derision. 

The poems tell us but little of the condition of the lower 
classes; still, by diligent search, we can gather enough to 
55. Lower draw at least a partial picture. Agriculture was the 
classes pursuit of many among the lowly. Others led the lives 

of artisans, armorers, shipwrights, smiths, builders, and artif- 
icers in stone and the precious metals ; still others were 
engaged in semi-professional pursuits. 

Below the freemen Avere the slaves. The life of these slaves 
was comparatively easy ; often they were captives taken in war, 
and consequently the equals of their masters in everything but 
the loss of their freedom. Sometimes they attained to posi- 
tions of great respect and responsibility ; sometimes they were 
virtually adopted by their masters and ceased to be his slaves 
in all but name. Nevertheless, then and thereafter, slavery 
was one of the greatest curses of Greece, for it tended to make 
all honest labor a disgrace, and to feed the fiercer passions of 
mankind. 

The relations betw^een man and his gods in Homeric times 

were still ^nost primitive ; each of the gods had his favorites 

56 Reli among men, and was constantly interfering in their affairs 

gious and to protect and aid them. Marriages between men and gods 

socia 1 eas ^^,gj.g conceived of as probable ; nearly every hero was the 

descendant of some god who had lived for a time on earth. 

Worship was of the most primitive kind ; hecatombs of cattle 

were sacrificed to win the favor or appease the wrath of those 



THE DAWN OF GREEK CIVILIZATION 



69 



on high. Of priests we hear but little ; though they existed, 
they played but a small part in the affairs of men. 

As we should expect, in a state of society where the power 
of the government was not 
constant or certain, the closest 
bonds among men were the ties 
of kinship. Next to the gods, 
a man's father stood highest in 
his respect. Between brother 
and brother there existed the 
strongest obligations, much 
stronger than those of to-day, 
when each man lives for him- 
self and relies upon the govern- 
ment to protect his life and 
property. In case of injury, 
especially in case of death, all 
male relations were expected 
to take up the quarrel and 
carry it out to its end. Failure to accept the burden could 
bring nothing but dishonor to the kinsmen. 

Next to his own family, the Greek was bound to care for 
the stranger. "For he thought it great blame in his 
heart that a stranger should stand long at his gates," as 
Homer says. For days at a time, the stranger might accept 
the hospitality of his host, and when he departed, if he was 
pleasing to the lord of the house, he was sent on his way with 
many gifts. 

The women, if we may believe the minstrels who sang of 
their ways, were as highly esteemed as the men. They were 
allowed the greatest freedom ; they mingled with the men at 
feasts ; they were allowed to go and come as they pleased ; 
their counsel and advice was sought and heeded on many occa- 
sions. Yet their primary duties were purely domestic : even 




Zeus. 
Vatican Museum, Rome. 



I. 
119 



70 



THE RISE QF HELLAS 



57. Dorian 
invasion 



the highest busied themselves with the simplest household 

affairs. Thus, the daughter of the king goes out with her 

Odijssey, handmaidens, "taking the goodly raiment to the river to 

vi. 52 ff. wash," while her mother rests " by the hearth, with her 

women, her handmaidens, spinning the yarn of sea-purple stain." 

While the cities and 



states of the islands and 

Asia Minor were 

living the life Ave 
have just described, the 
states of Greece proper 
were torn asunder by 
the invasion of semi- 
barbaric Hellenic tribes 
known as the Dorians, 
who came from northern 
Thessaly, and who 
claimed Heracles as the 
ancestor of their leaders. 
Of the wanderings, 
of the settlements of 
the conquering Dorians, 
nothing is known' but the little which tradition has pre- 
served. The legends of the conquest are filled with mar- 
velous tales of strength, of deadly combats, and of the inter- 




Heracles and Atlas. 

From Olympia. — Heracles 

is holding the earth on his 

shoulders while Atlas hrings him 

the golden apples of the Hesperides. 



ference of heroes and gods ; still, out of the mass of tradition 
we can gather enough of truth to make certain that sometime 
about 1100 or 1000 b.c. these tribes of the north slowly moved 
into the more settled districts of the south, overturning many 
kingdoms, gathering into their hosts many of the less civilized 
inland tribes, till, in the end, they entered the Peloponnesus. 
Here the struggle was fiercer than anywhere else; but the 
Dorians prevailed, the older kingdoms disappeared, and new 
kingdoms were established in their place. The net result of 



THE DAWN OF GKEEK CIVILIZATION 71 

the migration had been to upset all the old conditions, and 
from the time of the Dorian migration we may date the 
founding of permanent states in Greece. 



The land of Greece was by nature divided into three parts : 
northern, central, and southern Greece. In the north, Thessaly 
was the only important country ; in the center, Phocis, 53 s^m. 
Boeotia, Attica, and Megaris; in the south, Corinthia, ^^-^y 

Argolis, and Laconia. 

Into this land, far back in the ages, the Hellenes or Greeks 
wandered from the regions beyond the Black Sea. For centu- 
ries these tribes led a nomadic life, till the Phoenicians came 
and taught them the arts of civilization. The pupils soon 
outstripped the masters, and the Greeks of the days of Tiryns 
and My cense became the masters of the ^gean Sea and the 
coast of Asia Minor beyond. 

On the mainland this early civilization passed away almost 
entirely before the Dorian invasion ; in the islands and Asia 
Minor, however, it was preserved, and thither, as we shall see, 
the Greeks of later times went for their inspiration in art and 
literature. 

TOPICS 

(1) Would Greek history have been very different if the Suggestive 
islands had been to the west of Greece ? (2) What difference *°P^°^ 
in the pursuits of the people did the physical conditions of Attica 
and Boeotia make ? (3) Why was the Peloponnesus divided 
into so many states ? (4) How did the organization of the early 
Hellenes compare with that of the American Indian ? (5) What 
importance have the legends in Greek history ? Study some of the 
stories in detail in a Greek mythology, (6) Compare the govern- 
ment of the Greek states as shown in the Homeric poems with that 
of an American city. (7) In what way did the slavery in Homeric 
times differ from the former negro slavery in the United States ? 
(8) How did the Greek religion of Homeric times differ from that 
of the Babylonians and Assyrians ? (9) Who protected the in- 
dividual from wrong in Homeric times? Who does it to-day? 



72 



THE KISE OF HELLAS 



Search 
topics 



Account for the difference. (10) How does the position of women 
in Homeric times compare with their position now ? 

(11) Modern accounts of travels in the Peloponnesus. (12) 
Discoveries at Tiryns. (18) Discoveries at Mycenae. (14) Dis- 
coveries at Troy. (15) Homer's account of the life in palaces. 
(16) Sea life in Homeric times. 



Geography- 
Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



Pictures 



REFERENCES 

See map, pp. 58, 59 ; Tozer, Classical Geography^ chs. v.-viii. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. i. ; Holm, History of Greece, I. 
chs. i. ii. viii. xii.-xiv. ; TsouHtas and Manatt, The 3Iycenman Age; 
Abbott, History of Greece, I. ch. v.; Curtius, History of Greece, 
I. bk. i. chs. i. iv. ; Grote, History of Greece, IIL chs. xiii. xiv. xx. 
xxi. ; Gardner, New Chapters in Greek History, chs. ii.-v. ; Oman, 
History of Greece, chs. i.-iii.; Fowler, City-State of the Greeks and 
Bomans, chs. ii. iii. ; Jebb, Greek Literature, ch. ii. ; Mahaffy, So- 
cial Life in Greece, chs. ii. iii., — Survey of Greek Civilization, 
ch. ii. ; Gardner, A Handbook of Greek Sculpture, pp. 56-87 ; 
Tarbell, History of Greek Art, ch. ii.; Harper'' s Dictionary of 
Classical Literature and Antiquities ; Seyffert, Dictionary of 
Classical Antiquities. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 10 ; Herodotus, bk. i. ch. 142 ; Thucydides, 
bk. i. chs. 2-8 ; Diodorus, bk. iv. ; Homer, Iliad, — Odyssey ; 
Strabo, bk. xiii. ch. i. §§ .S ff., bk. xiv. ch. i. §§ 3 ff. 

A. J. Church, Stories from Homer, — The Story of the Iliad, — 
The Story of the Odyssey ; Bulfinch, Age of Fable ; Guerber, Myths 
of Greece and Borne ; Hawthorne, Tanglewood Tales, — Wonder 
Book ; C. Lamb, The Adventures of Ulysses. 

Engelmann-Anderson, Pictorial Atlas to Homer's Iliad and 
Odyssey. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE UNIFICATION OF GREECE AND THE COLONIZATION 
OF THE MEDITERRANEAN 

By the ninth century b.c. the Dorian migrations were over, 

and the old order of things had passed away in Greece. New 

tribes and new states had taken the place of the old. ^„ „ .^ . 

^ 59. Unit of 

All Greek communities, with the exception of those of Greek polit- 
Thessaly and the more backward tribes of the w^est, had ^^^ ^ ® 
as their unit the so-called city-state. This unit consisted 
usually of a walled or easily defensible town and the territory 
in its immediate vicinity. The people lived within the town, 
going forth each day to cultivate their fields or embarking on 
the sea in pursuit of trade. Every citizen — the number was 
usually veiy small — took a personal interest in the govern- 
ment; every man, by a fiction of a common ancestor, consid- 
ered all his fellow-townsmen as his kinsmen ; and in general, 
political life was much more intimate and personal than any- 
thing with which we are acquainted in modern times. 

From the eighth century onw^ard, the constant tendency in 
Greece was toward larger and larger political unions ; to some 
extent, in some parts of the peninsula, such unions were at 
length perfected ; but never, as we shall see, did the people 
succeed in finding a common ground on which all Greece could 
unite under one government ; and in this one weakness lies the 
secret of the failure in Greek political life. 

Boeotia, consisting as it does of one large plain, seemed to 
offer excellent opportunities for a political union ; but from the 
earliest times there had existed in the land a number of qq -^q^q, 
important cities, each of which aspired to supremacy over ^^^^ League 
all the others. In the Mycenaean age, Orchomenus led the 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 5 73 



74 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



other cities, extending its influence by commerce and alliances 
far beyond the limits of Bceotia ; but in the succeeding 
age, Thebes, the city said to have been founded by Cadmus, 
gradually grew to be the rival of Orchomenus and in the end 
prevailed against her. Thebes, however, 
never succeeded completely in subject- 
ing the other cities or establishing any 
relation with them except that of a loose 
confederation. 

About the same time that Cadmus 
founded Thebes, legend tells us that the 

„, _ . hero Cecrops, coming out of Egypt 

61. Theuni- ^ 

fication of into Attica, founded a city on one 

Attica ^£ ^Yie hills near the Saronic Gulf, 

which later on, in honor of the goddess 
Athene, received the name of Athens. 
But Athens was only one among the 
cities of Attica; in the valleys and on 
the hills there existed many hostile 
towns, and strife between these settle- 
ments was constant. For many years 
the fight for supremacy went on ; 



Thucydides, "^^^ ^heu Theseus came to the 
a. 15 throne in Athens, he, being a 




Athene. 



National Museum, Athens ; 
a copy of the statue hy 
Phidias in the Parthenon. 



powerful as well as a wise ruler, 
among other improvements in his ad- 
ministration, dissolved the separate councils and governments, 
and united the inhabitants of all Attica in the present city, 
establishing one council and one town hall. The inhabitants 
continued to live on their own lands, but he com'pelled them 
to resort to Athens as their metropolis, and henceforth they 
were all inscribed on the rolls of her citizens." 

That this was the work of one man, that the man was the 
mythical hero Theseus, we need not believe; nevertheless, 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 



75 



the fact remains that sometime before the beginning of the 
seventh century b.c. all Attica had been united under the 
leadership of Athens. Henceforward, the whole country acted 
as a unit in all political affairs. 

In the Peloponnesus, the greatest civilization in the Myce- 
naean age had existed in Argolis ; and the Dorians there were 
evidently not averse to accepting the civilization of the 62. Two 
conquered race, and under Phidon (about 770 b.c), the Dorian 

greatest of the kings of Argos, the power of that city phidon and 
was extended over the whole of northern Peloponnesus. Lycurgus 

The glory of Argos speedily declined before the power of 
her greater neighbor, Sparta. Of the early history of the city, 
practically nothing is known; even the legends give us but 
little insight into the real state of affairs. Then, suddenly, 
about 800 B.C., Lycurgus appears on the scene. Of his life, 

Plutarch says, "there piutarch, 
is so much uncertainty Lycurgus 
in the 'accounts which the 
historians have left us, that 
scarcely anything is asserted 
by one of- them which is not 
called into question or con- 
tradicted by the otherg." 

According to the generally 
accepted tradition, Lycurgus 
traveled through many lands, 
learning much about the laws 
and customs of the people. 
While he was gone things did 
not prosper in Sparta, and, con- 
sequently, when he returned, 
"he applied himself, piutarch, 
without loss of time, to a thorough reformation, and re- - Lycurgus 
solved to change the whole face of the commonwealth," Probably 




"Lycurgus.'' 
National Museum, Naples. 



76 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

the Spartan constitution was a gradual growth rather than 
the work of one man ; but whether all the reforms attributed 
to Lycurgus were made by him or not, from the beginning 
of the eighth century the Spartans lived under a constitu- 
tion which was unique in all Greece. 

The population of the lands under Spartan rule consisted of 
three classes. The highest were the Dorian conquerors ; to them 
gg g were confined all the privileges of the government, but, 

tan con- at the same time, they alone were bound by the regulations 
^ ^ ^ ^°^ which were devised for building up the military power of 
the state. Below them came the Perioeci, a class of free resi- 
dents who owed the state certain obligations, such as paying 
taxes and serving in the army, but beyond this were free to live 
as they pleased. Lowest of all were the Helots, who had no 
privileges which the Spartans were bound to respect; they 
had no personal liberty, they were assigned to certain farms, 
and were forced to perform such menial services as the free 
Spartans scorned. They differed from modern slaves only in 
this, that they had no personal master, that they belonged to 
the state and were forced to serve in the army. 

At the head of the government stood two kings, whose 
powers in early times were considerable. According to Herodo- 
tus, they were originally chiefs in war, heads of the state in 
times of peace, and high priests of the gods. Yet in course of 
time, whether because they were constantly away from home 
on military expeditions, or because the Spartans wished to 
curb their power, the kings were largely superseded by a new 
magistracy, the board of five Ephors. These magistrates were 
chiefly concerned with the administration of home affairs ; to 
the kings still remained their powers as leaders of the army 
in war. 

Neither kings nor ephors were free to act as they pleased ; 
their functions were carefully limited by a council of elders, 
the Gerousia, consisting of twenty-eight members over sixty 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 



77 



years of age. This council, elected by the general assembly, 
aided the magistrates in the discharge of their duties, prepared 
the laws for the consideration of the assembly, and in general 
exercised a careful supervision over all the affpirs of the gov- 
ernment. 

The general assembly, the Agora, consisted of all Spartans 
over thirty years of age who had not forfeited their rights of 
citizenship. The body was convoked to act on questions of 
peace and war, and on all questions of general policy ; but, as 



'^,*\'^^'^^ 




Sparta and Mt. Taygetus. 



in all early assemblies, the members had no right of debate : 
they had to content themselves with recording their votes. 

All institutions in Sparta looked toward the training of citi- 
zens for war. With this in view, every child, immediately on 
its birth', was submitted to the elders for examination. 34 spartan 
If the child gave no evidences of serious weakness, it training 
was returned to its mother ; if it was weak or sickly, it was 
carried out to perish on the side of Mount Taygetus. At 
seven, all boys were forced to leave their mothers and were 
organized in companies under tutors, whose business was to 
train them in military exercises. The girls were similarly 



78 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

trained, though in their case the purpose was the development 

of healthy bodies rather than any specific military end. At 

eighteen, the training of the boys was over; now they joined 

a mess or club, the syssitia, where they associated with the 

men in military exercises and ate their meals. Of home life 

nothing was known till the man reached the age of thirty. 

With such a system, though they stunted every other side of 

life, the Spartans early developed the greatest war power in 

Greece, for their whole state was one great military camp. 

Sometime early in the eighth century the Spartans began to 

assert their ascendency over the surrounding states. First they 

65. Growth extended their borders till their state reached the mouth 

of the Pelo- ^£ ^-^^ Eurotas Kiver, and from about 750 e.g. the terms 

ponnesian 

League Sparta and Laconia (or Lacedaemon) became synonymous. 

In the last half of the century, they found a cause for a 

quarrel with their neighbors on the west, the Messenians, and 

for about twenty years a fierce struggle raged between the two 

states, till at last the Messenians were forced to acknowledge 

the Spartans as their masters. Three generations passed and 

then the war broke out afresh ; the Messenians tried to throw 

' off the yoke, but in vain. Many are the marvelous tales of their 

cunning and bravery ; but naught availed them ; in the end they 

were again subdued and reduced to the condition of Helots, and 

Messenia ceased to exist as a separate country. 

Next the Spartans turned their attention to the north. In 
Arcadia, owing to the wild character of the country, they never 
succeeded in gaining more than a nominal hegemony. Farther 
to the north, by interfering in the quarrels in Elis and Achaia, 
they succeeded better. Argos alone, of all the cities of the 
Peloponnesus, stoutly resisted the advance of the conquerors ; 
though often terribly punished, she maintained her independ- 
ence to the last. 

Holding absolute supremacy in southern Peloponnesus, and 
the hegemony over the northern states, Sparta had no mill- 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 



79 



tary rival in all Greece. All these states were loosely organ- 
ized in the Peloponnesian League with Sparta at its head. To 
the league, each state owed a strict military allegiance ; other- 
wise, each was free to act as it pleased. 

Thus some groups of states early tended toward political unity. 
Of far greater influence upon the unity of the whole land, 
however, were the great religious leagues and associations, of 
which two stand forth preeminent. 

Once upon a time, so the Greeks said, the god Apollo, wander- 
iug through the land, came into Phocis. Here, on the side of 

Mount Parnassus, he found a 



cleft in the rock, and resolved 



66. The 
Delphian 

t o establish an oracle where °^^° ® 

men might come and consult him 
about all their undertakings. The 
spot he called Delphi. Prom all 
over the world, men came to receive 
his words, and in course of time 
an association of the various tribes 
was formed to protect the shrine 
and the lands which belonged to 
the god. All who were members 
of the association came to feel the 
closest ties of religion and of 
race. 
Equally important in the unification of Greece was the com- 
mon festival celebrated once in four years at Olympia, in the 
plains of the river Alpheus in Elis. In the beginning, 
only the tribes of the Peloponnesus took part in this fes- Olympian 
tival; but as time went on, Greeks from all over the world games 

were admitted to the privilege of contesting in the games. 
Nevertheless, the line was strictly drawn ; only pure Hellenes 
were admitted as contestants, and consequently the feeling of 
common race was intensified in those who did take part. Pur- 




Apollo. 
Vatican Museum, Rome. 



80 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



thermore, the games served another valuable purpose ; during 
the entire period of the festival, all hostilities between Greek 
states must cease, and at least once in four years the whole 
land was at peace. 

From the nature of the soil, from the very limited area Avhich 

the land offered for cultivation, from the fact that the sea lay 

68. Era of ever at the doors of the Greeks, it was but natural that 

coloniza- ^^iqj should push out beyond the limits of the peninsula. 

600 B.C.) Such a movement had taken place in the days when 

Tiryns and Mycense were the great cities of the land; and had 

undoubtedly gone on during the period of the Dorian invasion. 




Olympia. (Restoration.) 



If we may trust the legends of Lycurgus and the other heroes, 
sea-faring was never foreign to the race. By 1200 or 1000 
B.C. colonies had been planted along the shore of Asia Minor, 
and by the middle of the eighth century b.c. — the era with 
which we are now about to deal — these cities were as well 
organized as any in the peninsula of Greece. Our task is now 
to observe the establishment of new colonies in other parts 
of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Of the causes which led to this later movement, several 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 81 

have already been hinted at : the soil of Greece was poor, and 
the sea was the only outlet for the increase in population. 
Besides this, with the growth of well-established governments 
and the absorption of power into the hands of a few people, 
many men found the burdens of life at home irksome; and, 
fired by the spirit of adventure for which the race had always 
been noted, they sought better and easier conditions in places 
beyond the sea. Another reason which led men away from 
Greece was the growth of the military power of Sparta, which 
caused many of the inhabitants of the Peloponnesus to emigrate 
rather than to submit to the political oppression incident to the 
conquest of their homes. - 

Some of the colonies which sprang up in all parts of the 
Mediterranean were the result of slow growth such as creates 
most cities in the world to-day. In most cases, how- ca -p j 
ever, the colonies were founded deliberately, and ac- ing of a 
cording to a regular semi-religious custom. The persons ^° °^^ 

who wished to establish a colony gathered at some appointed 
place, chose a leader, called an (Ecist, and in other ways com- 
pleted their preparations. Before the colonists set out, the 
oracle at Delphi was consulted, so that the new city might have 
the sanction of the gods. Not to consult the oracle was con- 
sidered a sacrilege ; not to heed the words of the oracle, a sure 
sign of calamity for the new settlement. 

When the party arrived at the site of the new colony, the 
lands were divided, the city was regularly laid out, temples 
and altars were built, and everything possible was done to con- 
nect the new life with the life at home. Still, the colonies were 
seldom bound by any political ties to the home city. In this 
respect, they differed from the colonies founded in America; 
otherwise these expeditions have a very modern air. 

Out of Miletus, on the coast of Asia Minor, ship after ship 
made its way through the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles) 
and the Bosporus into the Euxine (Black Sea). Here the 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 



83 



trader found fish, copper, iron, gold, lumber, wool, and grain, 

and colony after colony sprang up along the shore,till, from the 

Propontis (Sea of Marmora) to the Crimea, the shore was „^ 

^ ^ ... . 70. Settle- 

studded with flourishing cities. The Propontis itself was ments in 

controlled by colonists from Megara, with their principal 
centers at Byzantium and Chalcedon. 

Along the shores of Thrace and the promontories of Mace- 
donia, men from the island of Euboea, from the cities of Chalcis 



the east 




Temple of Foseidon, Uod of the Sea, at Posidonia, 



and Eretria, settled, till the promontories themselves took on 
the name of Chalcis and were henceforth known as Chalcidice. 
West of Greece, in the islands of the Ionian Sea, Corinthian 
traders were active; still, the islands were but halfway sta- 
tions on the route to Italy and Sicily. In Italy, Cumse, „^ „ . 
in the Bay of Naples, was the first city to be founded ; ments in 
later, the whole southern coast was settled by Dorian 
Greeks: Tarentum, Sybaris, Locri, Rhegium, and Posidonia, 
all important cities, were founded in quick succession. In 
Sicily, too, the Corinthians and people from the other Dorian 
cities were active : Syracuse, Naxus, and Messana were the 
result, and before the seventh century was out, the Cartha- 



the west 



84 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



ginians, who had come across the sea from Africa, had been 
pushed into the western part of the island. Still farther 
west the colonists ventured, till southern Gaul and even the 
wild Iberian peninsula were frequented by the Greeks. On 
the African shore colonies were also planted. Here Nau- 
cratis, in Egypt, and Cyrene, just opposite the island of Crete, 
attested the activity of the Greeks. 

The circle of Hellenic influence was now complete ; from one 
end of the Mediterranean to the other Greek ships made their 
way, and it is only by remembering this widely extended 
circle that we can come to some appreciation of the wide influ- 
ence of the race, which, in its beginnings, had inhabited only the 
small peninsula, scarcely two hundred and fifty miles square. 



72 
mary 



In the centuries following the Dorian invasion, the Greeks 
were gradually coming to an appreciation of the unity of their 
Sum- ^^ce. Politically, 



this 




appreciation 
was brought about by 
the growth of leagues 
and states. In northern 
and central Greece, these 
leagues had little influ- 
ence except in Attica, 
where the union became 
so close that all the 
other towns lost their 
political identity in the 
political life of the me- 
tropolis Athens. In the 
Peloponnesus, Argos for 
a brief moment seemed 
destined to assert her hegemony ; but the career of Argos was 
cut short by the rise of her greater rival, Sparta. By means 



The Wrestlers. 

Florence. 



UNIFICATION AND COLONIZATION 85 

of her wonderfully well-organized army, Sparta soon out- 
stripped her rival, and before the end of the seventh century, 
every state in the Peloponnesus except Argos owned her 
supremacy. 

Even more powerful in their influence toward unity were 
the religious leagues. Of these there were many, but by far 
the most important were the league for the protection of the 
Delphian oracle and the league for the celebration of the 
Olympian games. 

While the G-reeks were slowly coming to the recognition 
of a national consciousness at home, their influence was 
being spread throughout the Mediterranean world by the 
colonies. Seeking new homes where they might live in 
peace or trade with the natives, the Greeks covered in a cen- 
tury and a half the entire shores of the Mediterranean Sea, 
and through their colonies spread new light and new ideas 
throughout the Mediterranean world. 

TOPICS 

(1) What was the difference between the Athenian state as Suggestive 
organized by Theseus and a modern state ? (2) Do you think topics 
Lycurgus made the Spartan constitution in the manner described 
in the legend? Give your reasons. (3) Compare the Spartan 
constitution with the constitution of your own state, pointing out 
differences and likenesses. (4) Why do we not train our citizens 
as the Spartans did ? Do you know of any countries which come 
nearer to doing so than ours ? (5) Would you like to have lived 
in Sparta ? Give your reasons, ((f) What political qualities did 
the Greeks as a race lack ? AVhat Greek institutions tended to 
supply the deficiencies ? (7) With what modern games might the 
Olympian games be compared ? (8) Compare the founding of a 
Greek colony with the founding of colonies in this country in early 
times. 

(9) Legends of Cadmus. (10) Statues of Theseus. (11) Child Search 
life in Sparta. (12) Present condition of Sparta. (13) The exca- ^°P'^^ 
vations at Delphi. (14) Some of the oracular sayings delivered at 
Delphi. (15) Remains of Olympia. (16) Ancient descriptions of 
Olympic games. (17) Modern descriptions of Olympic games. 



86 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



REFERENCES 



Geography- 
Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
■work 



See maps, pp. 58, 59, 82. 

Bury, History of Greece, chs. ii. iii. ; Holm, History of Greece, L 
chs. XV. xvi. xix.-xxi. xxiv.; Abbott, History of Greece, I. ch. xi.-, 
Gilbert, Constitutional Antiquities of Athens and Sparta, pp. 1-90 ; 
Greenidge, Handbook of Greek Constitutional History, chs. ii. iii.; 
Gardner, New Chapters, ch. iv.; Curtius, History of Greece, I. 
bk. ii. chs. i. iii.; Grote, History of Greece, III. chs. xxii. xxiii., lY. 
chs. xxvi. xxvii.; Cox, Greeks and Persians, ch. vi.; Oman, History 
of Greece, chs. vii.-ix. ^ 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 11 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, chs. 
1-3 ; Herodotus, bk. i. chs. 65-68, bk. vi. chs. 56-60 ; Thucydides, 
bk. ii. ch. 15, bk. vi. chs. 2-5 ; Plutarch, Lives, Lycurgus ; Pausanias, 
Itinerary of Greece, bk. iii.; Strabo, bk. vi. ch. iii., bk. viii. ch. v. 
(consult index) ; Xenophon, Bepiiblic of the Lacedcemonians. 

See ch. v. 




Battle of Greeks and Amazons. 
British Museum ; from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. 



CHAPTER VII. 
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GREECE 

In the time of the Homeric poems, the Greeks were dis- 
tinctly an agricultural people ; though they roamed the sea in 
quest of adventure, commerce was the exception. Even the 
Phffiacians, an island people, who gave " most heed to 
masts and shrouds and ships well poised," "dwelt apart, ^^■~^^'^^^^' 
afar within the unmeasured deep, amid its waves, the most 
remote of men ; no other race had commerce with them."' In 
those days, kings ruled over the people. 

In time, the power of the kings declined before the power 
of the nobles. In Sparta, the result of this development was 
that the kings lost all their power except the right to 73. From 
lead the people in war; so that by the middle of the to^hffarchv 
seventh century b.c. the state had ceased to be a mon- in Sparta 
archy in all but name ; it had become a military aristocracy 
or oligarchy. The real power was in the hands of a few 
citizens who were bound by the so-called laws of Lycurgus, and 
they conferred it at will upon the kings and ephors. The 
thing which distinguishes Sparta from most of the other cities of 
Greece is that the Spartan form of government never advanced 
beyond this stage. 

In Athens, too, kings ruled the land in earliest times. 
These early kings, if we may trust the legends, were a hardy 
race, but their descendants degenerated while the nobles 74. From 
grew in power. Eirst the term of the king's office was to^j^^archv 
reduced to ten years ; then the office of Polemarch, a in Athens 
commander in chief, was " created to supply the general- Af^^n *■' 
ship in which some of the kings were wanting." Next tution, 3 
tbe power of the king over the action of the council and over 

87 



88 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

civil affairs was withdrawn and conferred upon an elected 
magistrate, called the Archon. By this time, the title of king 
conferred upon its holder only the rights of a high priest and 
judge. 

So far, all offices were held for ten years ; now, the nobles 
went one step further and reduced the term of all offices to one 
year. To insure them still further in the control of the gov- 
ernment, they devised a new magistracy, the board of six 
A ' f fi Legislators ( Thesmothetoi), whose functions, as Aristotle 

Ath. Consti-' says, were " to commit the ordinances to writing, and to 
u ion, 3 i^eep records of them to insure their enforcement against 
transgressors." Finally, the office of king was thrown open 
to all the nobility. Thus in the course of about a century 
(750-650 B.C.) the monarchy had ceased to exist, and Athens 
had passed into the hands of a landed aristocracy. 

In 650 B.C. the government of Athens may be described as 
follows. At the head of the state stood a board of nine 
archons : the arcJion eponymos or chief executive, the pole- 
march or commander in chief, the king archOn or high priest 
and judge, and the six legislators or remembrancers of 
the law. Aiding the magistrates in the discharge of their 
duties and checking any tendency to abuse of power was the 
council of ex-archons, called the Areopagus. The essential 
point in all this system is that the government was exclu- 
sively in the hands of the landed nobility. 

From the geographical position of Attica, it was inevi- 
table that the landed nobility could not forever hold un- 
75. Growth divided supremacy in the city. Like all other states 

. , ' which were situated near the sea, Athens took part in 
mercial ' ^ 

class the general commercial development of the seventh and 

sixth centuries B.C., and as the commercial class grew in im- 
portance, it naturally demanded some recognition in the gov- 
ernment. In other cities, as we shall see, Avhen these demands 
were slighted, the merchants turned at once to the tyrants or 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 89 

military despots, who were willing to consider their interests. 
In Athens the development was different : here, the commercial 
classes, by contributing their share to the defense of the state 
in the shape of heavy-armed infantry, forced the nobles to 
grant them privileges which they had not previously enjoyed. 
So it happened that, by the last quarter of the seventh 
century e.g., the magistrates were elected " in accord- a • t ti 
ance partly with aristocratic, partly with plutocratic Ath. Consti- 
qualifications." ^''^^'^''' ^ 

Then, about 625 e.g., there arose in Athens a man named 
Cylon. According to Thucydides, " He was powerful and Thuctjdides, 
of noble birth; he had married the daughter of Theagenes, ^" ^~^ 

a Megarian, who was at this time tyrant of Megara. In jion of Cylon 
answer to an inquiry which he made at Delphi, the god (625 B.C.j 
told him to seize the Acropolis at Athens at the greatest 
festival of Zeus. Thereupon, he obtained forces from Thea- 
genes, and, persuading his friends to join him, ... he took 
possession of the Acropolis, intending to make himself tyrant." 
The attempt failed ; Cylon and his followers were closely be- 
sieged in their stronghold, and Cylon saved himself only by 
escaping from the city, abandoning his followers in his flight. 

The cause of this movement, though the historians do not 
give it, was undoubtedly the discontent of the unenfranchised 
classes. The greatest of the evils of which these people com- 
plained was that the administration of the law was entirely 
in the hands of the nobles. However much the commoner 
might think himself aggrieved by the construction which the 
judges put upon the law, he had no remedy. With us, though 
the average citizen knows hardly anything about the law, he 
lives content in the knowledge that he can always ascertain 
his rights by consulting the statute books ; Athenian law, on 
the other hand, existed only in the minds of the judges, and 
they might interpret it as they j^leased. 

Even under such a system, had the nobles been entirely fair 

WOLF. AXC. HIST. 6 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 91 

in their administration, they might have enjoyed their ex- 
clusive privileges much longer; but as the commoners rose in 
importance through commerce, the nobles felt their power slip- 
ping away; and to counteract this loss of power the judges 
administered the law largely in favor of their own class. 
The result was such movements as the rebellion of Cylon. 

To correct the evils which the rebellion had made evident, 
Draco, one of the nobles, was appointed in 621 b.c. to codify 
the law and modify the constitution. In his code, Draco „„ Reforms 
simply embodied the customary law of the land, although of Draco 
in later times it became proverbial for its severity; in 
his constitution, he proceeded on the theory that not only 
the nobles and the very rich commoners, but all men who 
could provide themselves with the necessary equipment for 
war, should be allowed to share in the franchise. Eligibility 
to office, however, was still confined to the nobles and the very 
rich. To restrain the officials and the council of the Areopa- 
gus, Draco founded a new council of four hundred and one 
members, who were to be chosen by lot from among those who 
had obtained the franchise. In this way the excessive power 
of the nobles was checked, though office holding was still 
bound up with the possession of wealth or of an ancient family 
name. 

The laws of Draco, though they did something for the im- 
provement of the commoners, did not go to the root of the 
evil. The real difficulty lay in the fact that while the ^g Distress 
development of trade had gone on, the peasants had been among the 
unable to keep pace with the other classes. They were P^asan s 
unable to compete with the larger farmers, who tilled the land 
under better conditions, and consequently they were falling 
deeper and deeper into debt. To add to their distress, the 
whole system of transacting business had changed. Instead 
of exchanging goods by barter as they had done in the old 
days, men were now using money as a common medium of 



92 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



exchange. Money, however, was not plentiful, and only a 
few could get possession of it ; the others had to go without 
it, or pay very high rates of interest for its use. 





Aristotle, 
Ath. Consti- 
tution, 2 



Coin of Athens. 

The result was that the condition of the peasants grew 
worse and worse ; their farms did not yield enough to keep 
them out of debt, they bor- 
rowed money at high rates of 
interest, and when the time for 
payment came round, they could 
not meet their obligations. 

'^The poor with their 

wives and children were 

in servitude to the rich. 
... A few proprietors owned 
all the soil, and the cultivators 
were liable to be sold as slaves 
on failure to pay their rent. 
Debtors, too, as a guarantee of 
their obligations, were liable 
to forfeit their freedom on 
failure to satisfy the usurers." 




" Solon." 
National Museum, Naples. 



At this juncture, there arose in Athens a new leader, Solon. 
Belonging to one of the noblest families, he had been actively 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 98 

engaged in commerce in his younger days, and had learned 
much of the laws and customs of other lands. In the very 
midst of the period of greatest depression, when the city .^g solon 
had lost the island of Salamis in a war with Megara, and reformer 
the archons had declared it a crime to mention the name gjyej. ^594 
of Salamis, he gathered the young men of the city ^-CO 

and carried the war once more into the island. As a result 
of his daring, the Athenians were victorious, and Solon was 
hailed as the savior of the state. 

"And now," says Aristotle, "when the narrowness of ,. ^ ^, 
the constitution and the oppression of the many by the Ath. Consti- 
few had ended in the outbreak of war between the nobles tution, 5 
and the commons, . . . after they had long been divided into 
hostile camps, they concurred in the election of Solon as 
mediator and dictator and reconstructor plenipotentiary of 
the state." With the power thus conferi-ed upon him, Solon 
at once set to work to relieve the condition of the peasants. 
This he did by four laws : first, a law canceling all debts 
secured by mortgages on lands ; second, a law making slavery 
for debt forever illegal ; third, a law prohibiting a man from 
mortgaging himself or his family as security for debt; and 
fourth, a law fixing the maximum number of acres which any 
man might hold. Next, to improve the conditions of trade 
and at the same time to give the small farmer a chance to 
compete with the larger landholder, he undertook a complete 
reform of the coinage and the system of weights and measures 
of the land. Then, to introduce trade and commerce among 
the poorer classes — after all, Attica was more suited to trade 
than to agriculture — he required every man to teach his son 
some handicraft. In general, his object was to give to each 
citizen an equal chance in the business world. 

Having settled the social and economic difficulties of the 
city, Solon now undertook such reforms of the constitution as 
he thought necessary. In the first place, he divided the popula- 



94 THE KISE OF HELLAS 

tion into four classes according to a system which had been 

created in earlier times, in which each man belonged to one 

80. Solon's class or another, according to the amount of his wealth. 

constitu- rj.j^ lowest of these classes, called the Thetes, had, up 
tional re- ^ 7 7 r 

forms to this time, had no x^lace in the government. Solon 

now provided that they should be admitted to the general 
assembly, the Ecdesia, where they might participate in the 
election of the magistrates though they themselves could hold 
no office. Further, he established the popular law courts, the 
Helicea, where every freeman had the right to sit in judgment 
on all cases of appeal, and where the magistrates themselves 
were tried at the end of their term of office. Thus by their 
admission to the Ecclesia, the Thetes were given at least some 
power over the election of the magistrates ; by the establish- 
ment of the Helia^a, they were given the power to punish mag- 
istrates for malfeasance in office. 

When Solon laid down his power as legislator, he hoped that 
he had made a constitution which should last for all time, but 
he was soon undeceived ; complaints came from all sides, and in 
the end, to escape from the importunities of the people, he left 

Athens and went once more on his travels. " The state 
Aristotle, 
Ath. Consti- was still OLit of joint in all its members ;" says Aristotle, 

tution, 13 a some were aggrieved at the abolition of debts, others 
were unreconciled to the constitutional changes, others still were 
enflamed by rival ambitions. They formed three parties : the 
^ Shore,' who were considered to advocate a tempered constitu- 
tion ; the ' Plain,' who were oligarchical ; and the ' Hill,' led 
by Pisistratus, who were supposed to be strong partisans of 
democracy." Discord and discontent continued, till, in 560 
B.C., Pisistratus, supported by the peasants and shepherds who 
had been unable to take advantage of the laws of Solon, suc- 
ceeded in making himself tyrant of Athens. 

Meanwhile, in Sicyon, in Corinth, in Megara, in the cities 
of Ionia, Magna Graecia, and Sicily, very much the same 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 95 

changes in the mode of life had taken place as those we have 
noted in Athens. Commerce and manufacture had superseded 
agriculture, money had become the common medium of g. 
exchange, and the commercial classes had grown at the of the 

expense of the aristocracy. The commercial classes were yj^ants 

still living without the franchise or any adequate legal protec- 
tion ; and since the nobles showed no disposition to modify the 
constitution in their favor, revolutions were inevitable. Thus, 
in the years between 650 and 550 b.c, one city after another 
fell into the hands of a tyrant, who professed his willingness 
to grant the concessions which the merchants demanded. 

The story of one of these tyrannies is the story of all. 
Almost invariably, one of the nobles, offended by some act of 
his own class, gathered about himself all the discontented ele- 
ments in the city, and then, by the use of force, set himself up 
as tyrant. For a generation, everything went well ; then a new 
tyrant, usually the son of the first one, succeeded to power, and, 
forgetting the source of his authority, ruled without regard to 
the rights or feelings of the people. If he lived through the 
storm which was sure to follow, his successor was certain to be 
deposed and either put to death or sent into exile. A tyranny 
which lasted more than three generations is almost unknown 
in the history of Greece. 

Most famous of all the tyrannies except that of Athens, was 
the tyranny of the Cypselidse in Corinth. For some time the 
city had been ruled by a small clique of nobles. The g^ ^^^ 
discontent of the commercial classes grew greater and tyranny in 
greater, till, in 655 b.c, Cypselus succeeded in overthrow- 
ing the oligarchy and setting himself up as tyrant. The rule of 
Cypselus was brilliant ; his main care was the commercial inter- 
ests of the city ; he established colonies in the Ionian Sea and 
along the coast of Epirus ; he reformed the financial system ; 
and he did all in his power to make Corinth undisputed mistress 
of the seas. Grateful to the gods for all the favors which they 



96 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



had bestowed upon liim, he was not niggardly with his gifts. 
At' Delphi and at Olympia, his name was celebrated for the 
magniiicence of his donations. 

When he died, in 625 B.C., he was succeeded by his son, 
Periander, of whom are told many stories which picture him 
as a heartless tyrant ; whether 
the stories are true or false, the 
fact remains that he, like his 
father, did much to elevate the 
city to the position of one of 
the greatest comme^'cial centers 
in all Greece. Soon after his 
death, however, the tyranny in 
Corinth came to an end. 

We might go on thus and tell 

the story of tyrannies in many 

83 Rule of other cities ; but they are 

the Pisis- all of the same character. 

tratidse . , , , , 

(560-510 About them are woven 

B.C.) many of the romances of 

Greek history in which Herod- 
otus abounds. But we must return to the story of the city of 
Athens. Pisistratus, who became tyrant in 560 b.c, led a most 
checkered life ; twice in thirty-three years he was driven out 
of the city, but each time he succeeded in reestablishing him- 
self. When he died, he was succeeded by his son, Hippias, 
who rided till 510 B.C., when he and all his family were driven 
from the city. 

To appreciate the good that Pisistratus and Hippias did for 
the city, we need only quote from the two Greek authors, 

Thucydides, Thucydides and Aristotle. " No tyrants," says Thucyd- 
ides, "ever displayed greater merits than these; although 
the tax on the produce of the soil which was exacted amounted 
to only five per cent, they improved and adorned the city and 




Periander. 

National Museum, Naples. 



vi. 54 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 97 

carried on successful wars. . . . The city, meanwhile, was per- 
mitted to retain her ancient laws ; but the family of Pisistratus 
took care that one of their number should always be in office." 

*' His administration," says Aristotle, speakinsr of Pisis- 

' "^ ? i & Aristotle, 

tratus, '• was temperate and showed the statesman rather Ath. Consti- 
than the tyrant. The criminal laws were humane and button, w 
mild, and recognized that circumstances extenuate crime. He 
advanced capital to poor cultivators, enabling them to devote 
themselves unremittingly to their occupations. Herein his 
motive was twofold: to disseminate the pojoulation about the 
country away from the metropolis; and by moderate Avell- 
being and absorption in agriculture, to extinguish in them the 
wish and leisure to influence public affairs. . . . The com- 
mons had an easy time in all respects during his reign, for he 
was pacific in policy, and avoided quarreling with his neigh- 
bors. . . . The ascendency of Pisistratus was chiefly due to 
his democratic and philanthropic spirit. In all his actions he 
respected the law and assumed no privileges as a ruler." 

Thus the era of the Pisistratidse was one of great prosperity 
in Athens. All classes of society were satisfied, and trade and 
commerce flourished. Beyond the limits of Attica, the city 
was respected ; within the limits of Attica, the tyrants were 
constantly engaged in beautifying the city and in adding to 
the enjoyment of the citizens by numerous public works and 
frequent festivals in honor of the gods. In their government, 
they were humane ; content with the actual exercise of power, 
while they left to the citizens the semblance of political liberty. 

With such a reputation for good deeds, the rule of the Pisis- 
tratidae might have gone on indefinitely but for the vicious 
practices of which Hipparchus, the younger brother of g^ ^^^ ^^ 
Hippias, was guilty. In the year 514 B.C. Hipparchus the tyranny 
was killed by a band of conspirators, and thereupon 
Hippias resorted to extreme measures of cruelty. The harsh- 
ness of Hippias stirred up a discontent within the city which 



98 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

fell in very well with the plans of a band of exiles who were 
living in Sparta under the leadership of Clisthenes. By a 
special act of piety — they had rebuilt the temple at Delphi in 
a way far more magnihcent than the specifications required — 
they had won the favor of the oracle, and thenceforward the 
Delphian priests had not ceased to exhort the kings of Sparta 
to undertake an expedition against the city of Athens. 
Finally, the expedition was undertaken, and Hippias was 
expelled (510 b.c). 

No sooner was Hippias gone than party strife began again. 
With great good sense, Clisthenes enlisted the support of the 
85. Reforms popular party on his side, and on its shoulders he rode 
th ^^^^ r508 ^^^^^ power. At once he proceeded to reward the people 
B.C.) for their support by still further popularizing the consti- 

tution. 

His first care was to break up the parties which had so long 
been the curse of Athens ; hence he reorganized the people on 
an entirely new plan. He abolished the old tribes in which 
birth had fixed a man's position, and created ten new tribes 
based upon residence. These tribes would correspond very 
closely to modern city wards, but for the fact that, in order to 
avoid having too many men of one party in a tribe, Clis- 
thenes arranged his tribes so that the parts should be scat- 
tered over the whole face of Attica. To this end he divided 
each of the tribes into ten demes or townships, no two of 
which lay next to each other, and thus he broke up once for 
all the three old parties ; by scattering the demes, he also 
gave to each tribe an equal chance to take an active part 
in the government, for to each belonged a certain number of 
demes near the metropolis. 

Having organized his new tribes, Clisthenes next estab- 
lished a new council of five hundred men, fifty from each 
tribe. To this council every citizen might be elected, and 
therefore every citizen felt a personal interest in seeing that 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 99 

its decisions were respected. Furthermore, the magistracies 
were now thrown open to every man in the cit}^, and even 
men of foreign parentage were admitted to equal rights with 
men of ancient Athenian lineage. 

Finally, to prevent those factional fights which had been com- 
mon in Athens time out of mind, Clisthenes introduced a new 
and curious institution, Ostracism ; by it,- whenever, in the 
minds of the citizens, partisan feeling ran too high, the 
Ecclesia might get rid of one or the other party leader. 
The process consisted of a special form of balloting by which 
the citizens declared that a man was dangerous to the peace 
of the city and must therefore leave Attica for a period of 
ten years. Such banishment was not considered a special 
disgrace; at the end of his exile, the victim might return 
to the city, and to the full enjoyment of all his rights. 

All these reforms stirred up endless opposition to Clis- 
thenes both within the city and beyond the walls. Sparta, 
especially, with all her traditions in favor of oligarchy, was 
bitter against the new democracy and enlisted many cities of 
central Greece in a war for the suppression of the Athenian 
democracy and the reestablishment of the tyranny of Hip- 
pias ; but it was all in vain : Hippias was forced to flee to the 
court of the Persian satrap in Asia Minor, and the democracy 
remained triumphant, a sign and an example to the rest of 
Greece. 

The earliest governments, in Greece were monarchies ; in 
time, by the growth of power among the nobility, oligarchies 
took their place, and in Sparta the constitution never gg. gum. 
passed beyond this stage. In nearly every other city mary 

either a tyranny or a democracy ultimately superseded the 
oligarchy. In Athens, the process was slow ; it began with 
agitations like the rebellion of Cylon, near the end of the seventh 
century b.c, and the constitution gradually changed, till, in 



100 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

the days of Clisthenes, a century later, a complete democracy 
had. been established. The greatest of the builders of this 
constitution were Draco, Solon, and Clisthenes. In 621 b.c, 
Draco codified the law and made the basis of citizenship 
depend upon the ability of the resident to equip himself with 
arms. In 594 b.c, Solon abolished many of the harsh laws 
of debt, bettered the condition of the peasant class, and con- 
ferred the franchise upon the Thetes, though he still retained 
for the rich and noble the exclusive right of holding office. In 
508 B.C., Clisthenes established a complete democracy, confer- 
ring upon all equal rights of holding office. To the change, 
the Pisistratidae also contributed their share, for, in the days 
of the tyranny, men came to look upon all citizens as equal; 
only the tyrant enjoyed special privileges. This equalization 
was the greatest gift of the tyrannies ; but they also bettered 
the material condition of the people, stimulated trade and manu- 
facture, and brought about a golden age of art and literature. 
By 500 B.C., most of the cities had arrived at a permanent 
form of government : in the next chapter, we may return to 
the narrative of Greek history. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) What is an oligarchy ? What form of government pre- 

topics ceded it in Sparta ? (2) What is an aristocracy ? Trace the steps 

by which the powers of the aristocracy in Athens were reduced. 

(3) What new element did commerce bring into Athenian politics ? 

(4) What do you think Cylon hoped to gain by his conspiracy ? 

(5) Compare the changes made by Draco and Solon in the Athenian 
constitution. (6) What was the importance and object of the 
Heligea ? Over what other court was it supreme ? To which of 
our courts does it correspond ? How does it differ from that court ? 
(7) Trace the history of Athenian institutions through the time of 
Solon. (8) Which form of government was preferable in early 
Greek times, tyranny or oligarchy ? (9) Compare the reforms of 
Clisthenes with those of Draco and of Solon. (10) Trace the 
qualifications for citizenship and the rights of citizens in Athens 
from the earliest times through the time of Clisthenes. (11) What 



CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 



101 



kind of government did Athens have in 500 b.c. ? How many 
kinds had she had before this ? Distinguish betvsreen all of them 
by giving definitions. 

(12) What did Aristotle think of the Athenian constitution down Search 
to 500 B.C. ? (13) Ancient opinions about Solon. (14) The story topics 
of a Greek tyrant. (15.) Remains of the age of the Pisistratidse 
still existing in Athens. 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 82. Geography 

Bury, History of Greece, chs. iv. v. ; Holm, History of Greece, Modem 
I. chs, xxii. xxvi.-xxxviii. ; Abbott, History of Greece, I. chs. xii. authorities 
XV.; Gilbert, Constitutional Antiquities of Athens and Sparta, pp. 
95-159 ; Whibley, Greek Oligarchies, ch. iii. ; Cox, Lives of Greek 
Statesmen, I., Peisistratus, I'olykrates, Kleisthenes [Chsthenes]; 
Fowler, City-State of the Greeks and Momans, chs. iv. v.; Curtius, 
History of Greece, I. bk. ii. chs. i. ii. ; Grote, History of Greece, 
III. ch. ix., IV. cbs. XXX. xxxi, ; Oman, History of Greece, chs. x. 
xii. xvi. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 12 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, chs. 2- 
22 ; Herodotus, bk. i. chs. 28-34, 59-64, bk. iii. chs. 48-53, bk. v. 
chs. 67-96, bk. vi. chs. 126-131 ; Thucydides, bk. i. chs. 20, 120, 
bk. iii. ch. 104, bk. vi. chs. 53-59 ; Plutarch, Lives, Solon. 






V 



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'■ ^ 


f- 


l-u 


v"*- 


^ 


' ^/ll 


• ^ 


^ 


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^ 


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^^ 


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Procession of Athknian Youths. 
From the Parthenon Frieze. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CONQUEST OF IONIA: THE BEGINNING OF THE 
TROUBLE BETWEEN GREECE AND PERSIA 

While the Greeks were slowly evolving new forms of gov- 
ernment and new ideals of civilization, a great storm was 

87 Social gathering in the central part of Asia. The fury of 

and politi- the tempest fell first upon the cities of Ionia, that is, 

tronTin ^" ^^ *^® western coast of Asia Minor. 

Ionia Here, since the days when the first colonists had landed 

upon the shore, a steady progress in civilization had gone on. 
For, when the Dorian invasion came to blast the growing 
power of Tiryns and Mycense, the cities of Ionia felt little 
of the shock; and even now, after three or four centuries, 
they were still far in advance of their neighbors across the 
^gean Sea. In Ionia, poetry, art, and philosophy had flour- 
ished and grown great ; here, too, trade and manufactures had 
reached their highest point. From Miletus, Ephesus, and 
Phocsea, hundreds of ships sailed the sea, where tens went 
forth from Athens, Corinth, and Megara. Pottery, cloth, fur- 
niture, arms of iron and bronze, ornaments of silver and gold, 
were supplied to the world, much as the Phoenicians had sup- 
plied them in the days of old. 

On the other hand, trade and civilization had brought luxury 
and indolence in their train : art, poetry, and philosophy were 
assiduously cultivated, it is true ; but the evils of extrava- 
gance and enervating luxury had grown even more rapidly. 
Work became a disgrace, or at least was undertaken reluc- 
tantly; instead of free laborers, slaves were universally em- 
ployed. To make matters worse, political unity seemed to be 

102 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 103 

an ideal impossible of attainment; every man had his own 
interests to serve, and could see no necessity for giving way to 
his neighbors. As for friendly relations between the several 
cities, — relations in which each should sacrifice something for 
the good of all, — only a few of the most patriotic lonians, even 
in the times of greatest danger, could conceive of such a thing. 

Had no common enemy threatened, these conditious might 
have gone on indefinitely without endangering the whole civili- 
zation of the race; but beyond the Greeks of Asia Minor 88. Lydian 
lay powerful inland tribes, whose existence they could i^JJJJa^about 
not afford to ignore. Among these tribes, the Lydians, 560 B.C.) 
in the course of the eighth and seventh centuries b.c, gained 
the supremacy. By the year 600 b.c, they were masters of 
all the country inland as far as the Halys River, controlling 
the trade of the mountains and of the lands beyond. 

Under such conditions, the Lydians could scarcely remain 
content without securing the trade of the coast as well. Had 
the cities been able to come to some common understanding, 
the struggle might have been prolonged indefinitely ; divided 
as they were, the only thing that surprises us is that they 
maintained it as long as they did. , About 560 b.c, Croesus, 
the last and greatest of the Lydian kings, came to the 
throne: following the policy of his fathers, he carried on 
the war most vigorously ; first Ephesus, then the other cities 
one by one fell into his hands. Thus the Greeks of Asia 
Minor ceased to be an independent people. 

The rule of the Lydian king was not oppressive ; from 
the first he did all in his power to identify himself with 
Greek national life. Time and again he appealed to Delphi 
for advice ; and to show his respect for the shrine and to gain 
the favor of the god, he repeatedly sent magnificent gifts. 
Thoroughly in sympath}^ with Greek ideals as he was, all that 
Croesus demanded was the submission of the cities so that he 
might control the trade of the coast. 



104 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



The Lydians were not the greatest of the foes with whom 

the Greeks were to contend. After Assyria had^ gone to de- 

89. Coming struction in 606 e.g., the kingdom of the Medes had taken 

of the Per- -^^ place as the eastern neighbor of the Lydians. For 

S13.I1S (00O~ 

548 B.C.) a time these new lords of the east had threatened the 
Lydian kings with war; then peace and good will had been 

established between them, and 
thereafter tlie two had lived 
in amity side by side. In 
558 B.C., a revolntion changed 
the whole face of the Median 
empire : Cyrus, a prince of 
Persia, one of the countries 
subject to the Medes, raised his 
standard in revolt, and suc- 
ceeded in overturning the power 
of the Median king. With the 
combined forces of Persia and 
Media to do his will, Cyrus was 
soon master of the greatest em- 
pire which western Asia had 
seen since the days of the old 
Assyrian conquerors. 

On the accession of Cyrus, 
the friendly relations which 
had existed between the Lyd- 
ians and the empire to the east 
came to an end, and Croesus made strenuous efforts to pre- 
pare for the attack which he felt sure would soon be made upon 
his dominions. His messengers hurried hither and thither, 
making alliances with many other states : Egypt, Babylonia, 
even Sparta, were induced to join in the effort to check 
the advance of Cyrus. Several times he consulted the Del- 
phian oracle ; each time the words of the priestess seemed to 




Cyrus. 
Bas-relief from Pasargadse. 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 105 

be favorable to liis schemes; but when at last he moved out 
against his enemy without waiting for his allies, he found too 
late that he had misinterpreted the oracle, and that his de- 
struction was foreordained. Within a short time, his kingdom 
fell into the hands of Cyrus, and he himself was carried off a 
prisoner to Susa, the capital of Persia (548 b.c). 

The lonians, who had lived comfortably enough under the 
rule of Croesus, naturally favored him in his fight with Cyrus ; 
and their fright was proportionate to the complete suc- 
cess of the Persian hosts. Without delay, they hurried conquest of 
away their ambassadors to Cyrus, begging him to receive °^^^ 

the submission of the cities on the same terms which Croesus 
had granted them. Cyrus scornfully refused: the time for 
leniency had passed, he said ; since the Greeks had elected to 
follow the fortunes of the Lydian, they must now be satisfied 
to submit on the same terms as had been granted to him. 

Thereupon, a spark of the old spirit kindled in the bosoms 
of the lonians, and they resolved to fortify their cities and to 
send to Sparta for assistance. Sparta, though once an ally 
of Croesus, refused to send any material aid. Still, for very 
shame, a messenger was sent to Cyrus, warning him that 
Sparta would resent any injury done to her Ionian kinsmen. 
Imagine the impression this Spartan messenger must have 
made upon the Persian king: the representative of scarce 
ten thousand fighting men threatening the monarch of millions! 
Naturally, Cyrus brushed aside the warning, and assured Herodotus, 
the messenger " that if he continued in health, the Spar- *• ^^^ 

tans should have trouble enough of their own to talk of, 
without concerning themselves with that of the lonians." 

At the moment, Cyrus had more important business than 
parleying with these self-assertive Greeks ; so he marched 
away, leaving one of his lieutenants in command in Asia Minor. 
The lonians might still have made some sort of stand against the 
Persian arms, had they been able to sink their petty jealousies. 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 7 



106 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



But union was impossible ; Miletus deserted to the Persians 
even before the attack on the cities began; and one by one 
the others followed her example, or else fell into the maw of 
Herodotus *^^ conqueror. Even after their fall "Bias of Priene 
L 170 gave them advice full of wisdom. . . . He recommended 

them to form one general fleet, to proceed with this to Sar- 
dinia, and there erect one city capable of holding all the 




\M 










Persian Subjects bringing Tribute to the King. 

Bas-relief from Persepolis. 

lonians." Thus by abandoning the empty cities to the Per- 
sians, the lonians might still have retained their freedom; but 
they preferred individual slavery to collective freedom; the 
advice of Bias was disregarded, and the citizens remained to 
increase the pride and swell the revenues of the conqueror. 
As the yoke of the Lydians had been easy, so the yoke of 
91. Oppres- the Persians was hard. Croesus and his fathers had been 
the^P^r-^^ in entire sympathy with Greek customs and Greek re- 
sians ligion; so long as the cities paid their tribute and 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 107 

acknowledged the supremacy of Lydia, the king was content. 
Now the cities were not only forced to pay tribute, but to 
furnish troops as well ; and the Persians openly scoffed at and 
interfered with their customs and religion ; for the Persian 
religion, known as Zoroastrianism, differed widely from that of 
the conquered cities. Furthermore, their trade with the east 
was largely cut off. Hardest of all to bear were the tyrannies 
which were set up in the cities, where democracies had long ex- 
isted ; and the fact that the tyrants chosen by the Persians were 
Greeks did not make the burden any lighter. Each tyrant felt 
very keenly that his position depended upon the good will of the 
conqueror, and therefore did all in his power to make his rule 
acceptable to the Persians, rather than to his fellow-citizens. 

Cyrus died in 529 b.c. Seven years later, after the short 
reign of Cambyses, conqueror of Egypt, Darius, a prince of 
another family, famous as a conqueror, but even more .. . 
famous as an organizer, ascended the throne. To make king of the 
the government of his empire more regular, and to se- •Persians 
cure for himself a fixed income, he divided his dominions into 
twenty or more provinces, and set over each a governor called 
a Satrap, who was personally responsible for peace and order 
in the province and for a fixed proportion of the taxes of the 
empire. From town to town, Darius built military and post 
roads, so that he might more easily keep his subjects in order, 
and might facilitate communication between the various parts 
of his immense domains. 

In 514 B.C., having set his empire in order, Darius under- 
took a magnificent, but apparently useless, expedition against 
the wild Scythians, who lived north of the Danube. Toward 
this expedition, the lonians, much against their will, were 
forced to contribute their share of troops and equipment. 
The expedition was an utter failure and would have but little 
interest for us but for the fact that while Darius was in the wil- 
derness, the Scythians begged the Ionian generals stationed 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 109 

along the Danube to cut the bridges and leave the Persians to 

perish. The generals refused, because, as Histiseus, tyrant of 

Miletus, said, their authority depended entirely upon the good 

will and power of the Persian king. 

As a reward for his fidelity, Histiseus was attached to the 

personal staff of the king. Though the reward meant nothing 

less than exile from his native land, he was forced to ac- gg Begin- 

cept, and to follow Darius to Susa. In his stead, Aris- ning of 

1 • 1 j_ T\ri ^ j_ j_ Ionian re- 

tagoras, his son-in-law, was set over iViiietus as tyrant. yoj^ (499 

Some time later a body of aristocrats from the island of ^-C-) 

Naxos came to him, asking for aid against their democratic 

enemies at home. Aristagoras, imagining that he could augment 

his power by the conquest of Naxos, secured the cooperation of 

the Persian satrap in Sardis. But the two fell out on the voyage 

to the island ; the expedition failed ; and Aristagoras lived in 

hourly fear of the punishment that he felt sure would be visited 

upon him. Therefore he resolved to act before the king could 

degrade him ; he consulted his friends in Miletus, and by their 

advice resigned his tyranny to the people, who established a 

democracy in its stead. By an act of treachery he captured 

the tyrants of several other cities, and in a few days the whole 

of Ionia was in a flame of rebellion. 

The forces of Ionia were, however, too small and too poorly 

organized to hope for success unaided against the Persian host. 

Therefore Aristagoras proceeded to Greece in quest of 

^ ^ , . . , 94. The 

help, and naturally turned first to Sparta, at this time the appeal to 

greatest military power in the peninsula. At first he -j f th^ns 

seemed about to succeed, but when the Spartans heard 

that the journey from Sardis to Susa would take all of three 

months, even the most adventurous advised the kings then and 

there to break off all negotiations. 

"Driven from Sparta, Aristagoras arrived at Athens, which 

city was then powerful beyond its neighbors. When Herodotus, 

Aristagoras appeared in the public assembly, he enu- ^- ^^ 



110 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

merated, as he had done in Sparta, the riches which Asia pos- 
sessed, and recommended a Persian war, in which the Athenians 
would easily be successful against a people who used neither 
sword nor shield. In addition to this, he remarked that Miletus 
was an Athenian colony, and that consequently it became the 
Athenians to exert the great power which they possessed in 
favor of the Milesians. He proceeded to make use of the most 
earnest entreaties, and to lavish promises, till they acceded to 
his views." 

After all, the Athenians needed but little urging. Was not 
the former tyrant Hippias at the court of the Persian satrap 
at Sardis ? Were not the two cities, Athens and Miletus, bound 
together by commercial ties as well as ties of common race ? 
The democracy at Athens responded with enthusiasm, and 
twenty ships filled with Athenian troops were made ready for 
the journey to Asia Minor. 

On the way the fleet was joined by five ships from Eretria 

in Euboea. Landing at Ephesus, the expedition proceeded 

inland against the city of Sardis. Though the siege 

ress of the promised to be successful, the Greeks were unable to 

^®^° take the citadel, and the army was forced to retreat in 

desx^air. The Persians, stirred to extreme anger by the 

burning of one of the Lydian temples in Sardis, followed 

after and met the Greeks in battle near Ephesus ; the Eretrian 

leader was killed, and the Athenians, deserting the lonians in 

their hour of need, took to their ships and sailed away for 

home. The fleet of twenty ships had served no purpose 

but to inflame the Persians against the people of Athens, 

who, up to this time, had felt none of the evils of the Persian 

conquest. 

Though the aid of the Athenians and Eretrians was thus 
withdrawn, the lonians were too seriously involved to give up 
the struggle at once ; besides, the revolt was not yet seriously 
checked. Many of the cities followed the lead of Miletus, and 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 111 

at one time or another all Asia Minor, from Byzantium to the 
island of Cyprus, was under arms. The revolt aroused Darius 
to extreme exertions, and step by step the various elements in 
the rebellion were defeated. Again the fatal weakness of the 
lonians appeared ; disunion and disloyalty were rife everywhere. 
The revolt started in 499 b.c. ; by 497 the Persians had 
gathered a great fleet in Phoenicia and along the southern 
coast of Asia Minor. To oppose this fleet, the lonians collected 
off the island of Lade, just outside the harbor of Miletus 
(p. 162). For a time, some sort of organization was main- 
tained ; but the sailors soon began to grumble at the strictness 
of the discipline, and when the Persian ships finally advanced 
to battle, the ships from Samos and Lesbos broke from the 
Ionian battle line and ran for safety; most of the others 
soon followed, and the few that remained were badly defeated. 
The defeat of the Ionian fleet 'meant that the Persians were 
masters of the harbor of Miletus, and therefore that the fall 
of the city must be only a matter of time. Nevertheless og x- d f 

the citizens, driven to despair, held oat for three years the revolt 

(^494 B C ) 

longer. Finally, when the city was forced to surrender, ^ " '^ 

the walls and temples were destroyed, the men of the city were 
slain, and the women and children were carried off to Susa as 
captives. 

The fall of Miletus was viewed as a calamity in all parts 
of Greece. In Athens, especially, the grief of the people 
was keen ; they looked upon the event as a private calamity. 
To the cities of Ionia, the fall of Miletus meant the end of 
all hopes of freedom. Soon the Persians swept the land of 
the last vestiges of rebellion, and Darius was once again 
master of all Asia Minor. In the general clearing up which 
followed, Miltiades, the tyrant of the Chersonesus, was marked 
for special punishment because he had years before advocated 
giving up Darius to the Scythians ; therefore, as the Persian 
fleet approached the Chersonesus, he fled for refuge to his na- 



112 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



tive city, Athens. The Athe- 
nians, conscious of the coming 
struggle with the Persians, 
must have welcomed Miltiades 
with joy as one of the best 
commanders of his day. That 
he had been a tyrant was true ; 
but the democracy, in its hour 
of need, could afford to wel- 
coQie such a tower of strength 
against the common enemy, the 
Persians. 




■ Miltiades." 
Louvre, Paris. 



Among the Greeks of the 
later age, the lonians, the resi- 

97 Sum- dents of the cities along 

mary the coast of Asia Minor, 

were the first to attain to a high degree of civilization. 
Happy in a material way, they lacked, nevertheless, the one 
essential for permanent political glory, the power to organize 
and combine. In consequence, about 560 b.c, they fell before 
the power of the Lydian kings. Some ten or fifteen years 
later, they were conquered by Cyrus, king of Persia. Under 
the Lydians, they had lived in comparative contentment; 
nnder the Persians, they suffered from all sorts of oppression ; 
still, it was almost fifty years before they finally aroused 
themselves to an attempt to regain their freedom. In that 
attempt they were aided, for a short time, by Athens and 
Eretria; but these cities deserted them, and for five years 
(499-494 B.C.) they were forced to carry on the revolt alone. 
In 497, their fleet was defeated off the island of Lade ; in 494, 
Miletus fell, and then the remains of the revolt speedily 
collapsed. Thenceforward, all hopes of freedom in Ionia 
seemingly were gone forever. Darius, the Persian king, was 



CONQUEST OF IONIA 



113 



master once more of all Asia Minor, and was now ready to 
take up the task of punishing Athens and Eretria. 



TOPICS 

(1) Why did the lonians attain a liigh civilization earlier than 
the Greeks in Greece proper ? (2) Which people of Greece proper 
did the lonians most nearly resemble ? State your reasons. (3) Do 
you see any significance in the fact that the Persians were moun- 
taineers ? (4) Why did Croesus treat the lonians better tlian 
Cyrus did ? (5) What was the difference between the tyrants 
of Ionia and the first tyrants in Greece proper ? (6) Distinguish 
between the underlying causes of the Ionian revolt and the im- 
mediate cause. (7) Account for the fact that the Athenians re- 
sponded more readily to the call of the lonians for help than 
the Spartans. (8) Why was a fleet essential for conquering the 
Greeks ? Did the Greeks or the Persians excel in naval warfare ? 
Why ? On whom did the Persians rely in such warfare ? Why ? 

(9) The products of Ionia. (10) Slavery in ancient Greece. 
(11) "As rich as Crcesus." (12) Life in Persia. (13) The Scyth- 
ians. (14) Ancient accounts of the city of Miletus. 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 82, 108, 1(32. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. vi. ; Holm, History of Greece, I. 
ch. xxiii., II. ch. i.; Abbott, History of Greece, II. ch. i. ; AUcroft, 
The 3faking of Athens, ch. i. ; Cox, Greeks and Persians, chs. 
iii.-v.; Curtius, History of Greece, II. bk. ii. ch. v.; Grote, History 
of Greece, IV. chs. xxxii.-xxxv.; Oman, History of Greece, chs. 
xiii. XV. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 18 ; Herodotus, bks. i.-vi. 

L. M. Child, Fhilothea; A. J. Clmrch, Story of the Persian 
Wra, — Three Greek Children ; E. Eckstein, Aphrodite. 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 

On the day that the satrap of Sardis announced that peace 

had been restored in Ionia, Darius was ready to take ven- 

98. Expedi- geance on the cities of Greece. Accord- 

tion of Mar- [^^a\y in 493 B.C. he sent his son-in-law 

donius (493 ^ -^ 

-492 B.C.) Mardonius into Asia Minor to make 

preparations for an expedition. A large 
fleet was gathered in the bays and gulfs of 
Cilicia ; and when all was ready the ships 
sailed north along the coast of Asia Minor 
to the Hellespont, where they were met 
by the army, which had been mustered 
inland. Together the two forces followed 
the northern shore of the ^gean, expect- 
ing to enter Greece by the Vale of Tempe. 
Whatever hopes of conquest were built 
upon this expedition of Mardonius were 
doomed to disappointment ; the army was 
sturdily opposed by the barbarians of Thrace 
and Macedonia, and the fleet was wrecked 
and almost completely destroyed among the 
rocks along the coast of Chalcidice. Dis- ^^^^^^^ wakkiok. 
consolate and discouraged, Mardonius re- sculpture from Persep- 
turned to Asia Minor without having struck olis ; in the Louvre, 

^ Paris. 

a blow against the Greeks. 

These unexpected disasters did not alter the determination 
of Darius to extend his dominions into Greece. Nor, appar- 
ently, was he any longer content to confine his attention to 

114 




I 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 115 

Athens and Eretria. While he was preparing his forces in the 
interior of Asia, he sent his messengers in 491 b.c. to the vari- 
ous parts of Greece, demanding of the cities earth and 99. Darius 

water, the symbols of submission. In most of the inde- Prepares a 

second ex- 
pendent cities like Athens and Sparta, the demands of the pedition 

king were indignantly refused ; but in many of the states of 

northern and central Greece, and in Argos and ^l^gina, the 

messengers were cordially welcomed and granted assurances of 

submission to the Persian king. 

That cities which loved their independence were indignant at 
the traitor states, we can easily understand : in a struggle on 
which depended life and freedom, every cit}^ should have stood 
closely by its neighbors; but even in times like these the fatal 
weakness of the Greeks showed itself. Petty jealousies were 
more powerful motives than the general welfare. Sparta and 
Athens, the leaders in Greece, were not blameless ; had they 
adopted a more liberal policy toward their weaker neighbors 
in earlier times, they might now with greater justice have 
asked for the cooperation of the smaller states. We must 
constantly remember the significant fact that though the fight 
was one for freedom from the oppressive despotism of the 
east, the individualism of the Greek race made it impossible 
for the whole people to unite against a foreign foe. 

While Athens and Sparta were busy punishing ^Egina for 
her disloyalty, Darius was collecting his forces in Asia Minor. 
Mardonius was discredited for the time, and the com- 
mand was intrusted to Datis, a Mede, and Artaphernes, pedition of 
the nephew of the king. Once more ships were gathered ^*^Arta- 
along the coast of Cilicia ; but this time, remembering the phernes 
fate of the fleet under Mardonius, the new commanders 
resolved to pursue the more direct route to Greece. In the 
summer of 490 b.c, a fleet of many hundred ships slowly 
crossed the Mgesm, reducing to submission such islands 
as had heretofore stood out against the authority of the 



116 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

Great King. Each of the islands was forced to contribute 
its share to the Persian fleet, till the forces of Datis and 
Artaphernes must have far outnumbered any fleet which even 
united Greece could have brought against them. 

The voyage across the ^gean was completed at last, and 
the ships made land on the southern coast of Euboea. The 
city of Carystus, which lies at this point, refused to 
ishment of grant the aid and information which the Persians de- 
Eretria manded, and consequently the army halted long enough 

to reduce the place to submission. Meanwhile, the Eretrians, 
having heard that the Persians had landed on the island, 
appealed to Athens for aid. The larger city stood ready 
to send troops to its neighbor ; but such was the disunion 
within the city of Eretria, that the more patriotic citizens 
sent w^ord to Athens to withhold these forces lest they too 
should fall into the hands of the Persians. Soon the siege 
began, but treachery and disunion speedily brought it to a 
close; the Persians were admitted within the walls by a 
traitor ; the city was destroyed ; and the first part of the 
vengeance of Darius was complete. 

In the host of the Persians was Hippias, who had not yet 

given up hope of regaining the ascendency in his native city. 

102. Battle Following his advice, Datis and Artaphernes, when the 

thon (490 conquest of Euboea was complete, transported their 

B.C.) troops over into Attica, landing near Marathon. We 

can imagine the feelings of the Athenians when the news 

was brought to the city that the Persians were actually on the 

soil of Attica. Here, within thirty miles of their walls, was an 

army which had conquered, every other nation in the known 

world. What chance of success had a single city like Athens 

against such a host ? Nevertheless, the Athenians were not 

entirely discouraged. A miessenger, one of the fleetest in 

the city, was dispatched to Sparta for aid, and the militia 

was made ready for the march against the enemy. 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



117 





Battlefield of Marathon. 



The Spartans were celebrating a religious festival at the 
time, and either could not or would not send the aid for which 
the Athenians begged ; so 
the militia of Athens 
marched out alone, though 
we may be sure that few 
who saw them leave the 
city dared to hope that 
they would ever return 
alive. 

The pole- 
march Cal- 
limachus 

was in command of the army, and under 
him served ten generals, chosen one from each 
of the ten tribes. Among them all, the palm 
of leadership was conceded to jVIiltiades, who 
had recently returned from the Chersonesus. 
The counsel of the generals was divided ; but 
in the end, the advice of Miltiades prevailed, 
and the Athenians resolved to take the offen- 
sive. The entire force, augmented by a few 
soldiers from the town of Plataea, charged the 
Persian host; and, almost before the enemy 
. was aware what had happened, victory was 
I wrested from the hitherto unbeaten army. 

Without waiting to celebrate their victory on 

the field, the Athenians hastened back to defend 

Greek Warrior, the city from a threatened attack by sea. By 
Work of sixth cen- their promptness, the Persian fleet was turned 
tional Museum back from Athens, and Greece, for the time 
Athens. being, was saved from the Persian conqueror. 

The secret of the victory at Marathon is simple : the Athe- 
nians had won by the superior mobility of their troops, by the 



118 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

superiority of their heavy-armed infantry over the light-armed 
archers of the Persians, and by the vim and dash of a body of 

men fisrhtiner for their homes a£?ainst men who were driven 

103. How & & & 

the victory into battle. Still, all this does not detract from the glory 

was won ^^ ^j^^ victory : the cause had been apparently hopeless ; 

only extreme devotion to their city had induced the Athenians 

to oppose the Persians, and they might justly feel proud of 

their victory. 

Miltiades, who led the victorious troops at Marathon, lived 
but a short time to enjoy his glory. Soon after the battle, he 
led a very questionable expedition against the island of Paros. 
The assault on the city of Paros failed, and Miltiades returned 
to Athens and was disgraced. Not long after he died of 
wounds received in the expedition. 

As soon as the immediate danger from the Persians was 
averted by the ever memorable victory of the Athenians, in- 

,«>, mi- ternal dissensions broke out in Greece once more In 

104. The 

new lead- Athens all fear of the restoration of the tyrants was 
tides and' dispelled by the defeat of the Persians, who had sup- 
Themis- ported the claims of Hippias; but though democracy 
was an accomplished fact, within the party of the demo- 
crats there was a serious break. Two younger men, Aristides 
and Themistocles, were contending for the power of Clisthenes. 
If we may trust the historians, they had been the keenest 
rivals from their earliest years. Though the contrast between 
them has doubtless been exaggerated, still they had little in 
common. 

Aristides was a man of calm, conservative temperament, 
conceiving the greatness of Athens to lie along the paths 
which the city had always pursued; Themistocles, on the 
other hand, was a man eager to try his strength, impetuous in 
action, not overscrupulous in methods, but above all things 
confirmed in the belief that the greatness of the city lay in 
building up her naval power. Already, in 493 B.C., when 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



119 



archon for the first time, he had begun to carry out his plan, 
by converting the Piraeus, a natural and easily defensible har- 
bor, into the principal port of Athens. Now that the Persians 
were gone, he proposed that the city should carry on the 
work of building war ships, so that, if the enemy returned, 
Athens might be able to fight on the sea. 

Like many democracies, Athens was not far-sighted. The 
Persian was gone : why should the state trouble itself about 
any future attack ? Themistocles was wiser: "When j^qs. Build 
others were of the opinion that the battle of Marathon 



w^as the end of the war, he thought that it was but the 
beginning of far greater conflicts ; and for this reason 
and for the benefit of all Greece, he kept himself 
in continual readiness, and his city in proper training." 
Above all, he would build up the Athenian navy, even at the 
expense of the army. To such a radical change, his rival 
Aristides strenuously objected ; 
even if the Persians did come 
again, he argued, had not the 
Athenians shown their suprem- 
acy on land? Why abandon 
the firm earth where the men 
could fight as their ancestors 
had fought, and trust to the 
unstable decks of ships and the 
treacherous waters of the sea ? 
Fortunately for the future 
greatness of Athens, Themis- 
tocles had the argument of 
immediate necessity on his side. 
War with ^gina was raging 
again, and Athens could not 

hope for success till she converted at least a part of her fight- 
ing strength into a navy. When Aristides complained of the 



ing of the 
new navy 



Plutarch, 
Themis- 
tocles 




Themistocles. 
Vatican, Rome. 



120 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

expense, Themistocles proposed that the city should devote 
the revenues from its silver mines at Laurium to the building 
of ships. Aristides still objected, and so, in 483 fe.c, he was 
ostracized by the Ecclesia, which by this time had been con- 
verted to the ideas of Themistocles. Then the shipbuilding 
went on unmolested, and forthwith Athens took her place 
among the great sea powers of Greece and of the world. 

It was high time to do something to meet the oncoming 
Persian. When news of the defeat at Marathon reached 

106. The Darius, its only effect was to heighten his determination 

Persians ^^ conquer this stiff-necked people. Had he not all the 

prepare a ^ ^ ^ 

third ex- lands from India to Egypt from which to draw his 

f490 ^481 troops ? Darius, however, was not destined to see the 
B.C.) accomplishment of his hopes, for he died in 486 b.c, 

and Xerxes, his son, took his place. After a brief war in 
Egypt, Xerxes took up the work of his father. 

For several years he w^as busy gathering his "many- 
Persians/ weaponed and commingled host." Almost every part of 
^^ his empire in Asia and Africa was put under contribu- 

tion. Of the number of this army which he led across the 
Hellespont, we can gather only the most general ideas. Herod- 
otus, to make the glory of the Greeks the greater, fixed the 
number at nearly two million. For us, it is enough to remem- 
Holm II ^^^^ that, "even if very great reductions are made, it 
ch. iv. still remains one of the most terrible invasions known 

to liistory — a regular swarm of locusts which descended on 
Greece to devour her." 

In Greece, as usual, the counsels of the people were divided. 
Even the oracle at Delphi, which should have stood sturdily 

107. Coun- foi' national independence, was either half-hearted in its 

cil at Cor- advice, or openly hostile to all demonstrations against 
inth (481 > 1 J ....,, 

B.C.) the Persians. Nevertheless, the patriotic cities gathered 

in council at Corinth in 481 b.c. to discuss plans and to per- 
fect arrangements for resistance. Spies were sent to Sardis to 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



121 



watch the preparations of Xerxes, and envoys were dispatched 

to the various cities not represented at the council, to ask for 

aid. Very few of the cities responded to the appeal, and it 

became more and more evident that Athens and Sparta and 

their immediate allies must bear the brunt of the attack alone. 

Almost before the Greeks could act, Xerxes had entered 

Thessaly. All hopes now centered on saving central and 

southern Greece. An army of several thousand men 108. Battle 

was collected, and under the command of the Spartan ofThermop- 

' ^ ylae (480 

king, Leonidas, took up its place at the pass of Ther- B.C.) 

mopylae, the gateway to central Greece, and the most easily ' 

defensible position in the whole land. At the same time, the 

fleet, under the command of the Spartan Eurybiades, anchored 

off Artemisium on the northern coast of Eubo3a. 

Imagine the situation at Thermopylae when the Persians 

finally arrived : at one end of the pass stood an insignificant 

band of heroes, fiorhtinsr for 




their homes and liberty ; 
at the other, the hosts of 
an eastern despot, who 
drove his slaves into battle 
with a scourge ! For three 
days Leonidas and his men 
held off the whole Persian 
army ; then a Greek traitor 
appeared, and Xerxes was 
enabled to send a part of 
his army over the moun- 
tains by a less known pass. When news that he was out- 
flanked was brought to Leonidas, instead of prudently retreat- 
ing, he stood his ground. Still, he was unwilling to sacrifice 
the whole army, so only his three hundred Spartans and 
seven hundred Thespians were chosen to meet a most heroic 
death. The battle was soon over, and scaj-cely a Greek 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 8 



1^34 5mil/i^ h^ C VT% 



Vicinity of Thermopylj^. 



122 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

remained to tell the story of the bravery of those who fought. 

On the battlefield, the Spartans later erected a tablet to the 

memory of those who had fallen; on it were the following 

words : — 
Herodotus, '' Gro, stranger, and to Lacedaemon tell, 

vii. 228 That here, obeying her behests, we fearless fell." 

After the battle of Thermopylae, most of the cities of cen- 
tral G-reece hastened to make their peace with the conqueror. 

109. Per- According to Herodotus, the shrine at Delphi was saved 
sians in ^^^ -^^ ^^^ intervention of Apollo, who sent a storm to 

C6Ilvx M'l 

Greece discomfit his enemies, though why the god should have 

interfered at so late a date is hard to tell ; for the oracle had 
throughout the crisis done nothing to foster the spirit of inde- 
pendence in the people. 

In Athens, the people were in despair; the Persians were 
almost upon the city, and no adequate means of defense was 
at hand. In the last extremity, Themistocles proposed that the 
people should take to the ships and flee to the friendly cities 
of the Peloponnesus. Some few citizens demurred, but the 
majority followed this advice, and when Xerxes came he found 
nothing but an empty city. 

Meanwhile the fleet had most wisely retreated from Arte- 
misium and was anchored in the Bay of Salamis. In this crisis, 

110. Battle one would like to record that for once the Greeks were 

of Salamis: ^y^ ^^ ^^^^ mind, but such was not the case. Those in 

meeting of ' 

the fleets the fleet who commanded ships from the Peloponnesus 

demanded that the fleet should retreat to the isthmus, where, 
they said, they would fight with added chances of suc- 
cess, since the army which was defending the Peloponnesus 
would be near to help them. Themistocles and his supporters, 
on the other hand, were anxious to fight at Salamis because of 
the advantage which the narrow entrance to the harbor af- 
forded, and especially because they knew that if the ships left 
Salamis they would scatter to the four winds, and sail away 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



123 



to the defense of their own cities. To prevent this, Themisto- 
cles, in apparent friendliness, sent a messenger to Xerxes, ad- 
vising him to make an attack at once lest the Greek fleet should 
disperse and the opportunity for a Persian victory be lost. 

Xerxes acted on this advice. In the morning, when the 
Greek sailors awoke, they beheld the Persian ships entering 
the harbor. For a mo- 




8CALE OF MILES 



ment, they were dazed by 
the sight, and the Per- 
sians, encouraged by the 
apparent fear of the 
Greeks, advanced boldly 
to the battle. The result 
was, however, not long 
in doubt. Xerxes, who 
viewed the battle from a 
hill overlooking the bay, 
was forced to watch the 
complete discomfiture of 

his navy. Ship after ship was sunk, and before night fell, 
the flower of the Persian fleet was destroyed and "every- 
thing that had oars put to sea." Well might the Pei-sian raise 
the cry which ^schylus puts into his mouth : — 

" O cities of the whole wide land of Asia ! 
O soil of Persia, haven of great wealtli ! 
How at one stroke is brought to nothingness 
Our great prosperity. All the flower 
Of Persia's strength is fallen ! Woe is me ! " 



Battle of Salamis. 



j^Eschylus, 

Persians, 

251ff. 



The hopes of Xerxes were blasted. He had staked his for- 
tune on this one battle and he had lost. In his discourage- 
ment, he resolved to retreat forever from Greece ; scarcely 

111 La.st 
could he be induced to leave a fraction of his army behind attempt to 



under the command of Mardonius to make a last attempt 
to subjugate the land. During the winter while the Per- 



conquer 

Greece 

(479 B.C.) 



124 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

sian army was resting in Tliessaly, Mardonius tried in vain to 
win the Atlienians to his side; but Athens scorned to pur- 
chase any favors, and the Spartans promised aid. 

With the coming of spring, Mardonius broke up his camp 
and marched south. The 'Spartans were so slow that the 
Athenians were forced to abandon their city again, and for a 
second time Attica was ravaged by a Persian host. Still the 
Spartans hesitated ; and only when the Athenian envoys hinted 
that they might be forced into an alliance with Mardonius did 
they gather their army under King Pausanias and send it forth 
into central Greece. 

When news of the movement of the Spartan army reached 

Mardonius, he at once fell back on Boeotia. Here, after endless 

maneuvering, the two armies met in battle near Platsea. 

Greek The result was almost a foregone conclusion ; for this time 

victories : ^^le Greek armv represented a considerable fraction of the 

Mycale fighting force of the land ; the terror of the Persian name 

(479 B.C.) Yi^^^ been dispelled by Marathon, Thermopylae, and Sala- 

mis ; and the heart of most of the Persians was not in the fight. 

The end of the day offered a sight which must have satisfied 

„ , , even the most sanguine : '' with gore-streaming death, the 

^schylus, 
Persians, Dorian spear had daubed Platsea's field," Mardonius was 

*^^ dead, and the remnants of the Persian army were fleeing 

Herodotus, toward Asia. " On this day," says Herodotus, " the death 
tx. 64 ^f Leonidas was amply avenged on Mardonius, and the 

most glorious victory which had ever been recorded was then ob- 
tained by Pausanias." Some days after the battle, the allies, to 
commemorate the victory, formed themselves into the League 
of Platsea. Ey the terms of the agreement, the territory of 
Platoea was to be held inviolable, and once in five years games 
were to be celebrated in honor of the victory. Above all, each 
of the allies once again promised to do its share in defending 
Greece against the Persians. 

As it proved, the defensive alliance was unnecessary, for the 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



125 




A Greek Ship. 
Relief in the National Museum at Athens. 



battle of Plataea relieved Greece forever from all danger of an- 
other Persian invasion. On the same day, so tradition has it, 
the Greek fleet achieved a victory almost as complete at Mycale 
in Asia Minor. During the 
spring, the fleet had been 
cruising in the ^gean ; 
later it moved across the 
sea to the mainland, and 
there, just behind the is- 
land of Samos, at Mycale, 
it found the Persian sol- 
diers intrenched. Disem- 
barking boldly from their ships, the sailors attacked, and before 
the day was over, the Greeks had scored another victory. 
Just as the battle of Platsea marks the end of the successful 
struggle for independence, so the battle of Mycale marks the 
beginning of a long campaign for the reconquest of Ionia. 

Thus ended the attempt of the Persians to subjugate Hel- 
las. As we shall see, the fight between the two races still 
went on, but never again did the Persians become the 
aggressors. To most of us, the struggle appears as a 
blind contest between the barbarian Persian and the civ- 
ilized Greek. Yet if we reckon civilization by the pos- 
session of the comforts and luxuries of life, the Persians were 
far in advance of the Greeks : had they not inherited from 
Babylonia and Egypt the civilization of all the centuries ? It 
is only when we apply intellectual and moral standards, that 
Greek civilization assumes its rightful place. Precisely be- 
cause both races were civilized, the struggle was one of the most 
momentous in all history ; for the ideals of the two races were so 
different. On the one side stood a people whose whole energies 
were devoted to ministering to a single individual, the king ; on 
the other, a people among whom the idea of equal rights among 
all freemen was rapidly becoming the chief ideal. 



113. Con- 
trast be- 
tween the 
two civili- 
zations 



126 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



Furthermore, the refinement and culture of Asia had always 
existed for the very few ; in Greece, every man had an in- 
herent right to enjoy whatever good the state was caj^able of 
providing. Finally, and most important of all, the races of 
Asia had already brought forth everything that they were 
capable of producing : from the time of Xerxes to the present 
day, they have made scarcely any advance; in Greece, on the 
other hand, a newer and better civilization, a civilization full of 
lofty ideals in art and literature, capable of almost infinite 
development, was still in the very vigor of its youth. Had the 
Persians conquered, much of that civilization might have been 
stifled ; because the Greeks were victorious, we Americans have 
a right to boast of our own freedom. 

Coincident with the fight against the Persians in the eastern 
Mediterranean, came the struggle of the Greek colonies in the 

114 Growth ^®^^ agamst the Carthaginians. The power which Tyre 

of Sicilian 

tyrannies 



had lost in the western world at the time of the Assyr 
ian and Persian in 



^ ^ 




"Jo So 80 Tbo MILES 



vasions fell to her colony, 
Carthage. Situated on a 
promontory where Africa 
approaches nearest to 
Sicily, the city made her- 
self mistress of almost all 
the western Mediterranean, 
till her only rivals were 
the Greek colonies in Sicily. 
By 485 B.C., most of these 

cities fell into the hands of tyrants, among whom Gelon, lord 
of Syracuse, and Anaxilaus, tyrant of Messana, were most 
famous. By conquests and alliances these two tyrants gradu- 
ally extended their power till they practically divided the 
eastern part of the island between them. In the west, 
the island was in the hands of the Carthaginians. 



Sicily. 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 127 

Sometime between 485 and 480 b.c, the two tyrants were 

drawn into a war with each other by a dispute between two 

of their allies. Anaxilans was defeated, and thereupon 115. The 

appealed to the Carthaginians. For three years, the Car- . Carthagin- 

•^ ' lan invasion 

thaginians are said to have gathered forces from all (480 B.C.) 

parts of the western Mediterranean ; then, in 480 b.c, about 

the time that Xerxes was on his way to Greece, they landed 

on the island at Panormus, under their king, Hamilcar. 

At first the Carthaginian king was successful, but toward 
the autumn of the year he was met near the city of Himera 
by Gelon, and completely defeated. Hamilcar himself died 
before the battle was over, a self -immolated victim to the 
gods whom he was trying to win over to his favor. 

Thus in western Greece, as in eastern Greece, the wave of 
foreign conquest was turned back. In the west, the victory 
was due largely to the genius of one man, Gelon. In the east, 
it was the strength of a number of independent states which, 
though not well united, won the fight for freedom and for 
home; and, though the victories in the east may not have 
been so brilliant as the single victory in the west, they were 
more lasting in their effect. 



As soon as the Ionian revolt was over, Darius determined to 
punish the Athenians and the Eretrians. In 493-492 b.c, he 
sent Mardonius to accomplish the task, but Mardonius ne. sum- 
failed, and two years later, in 490 b.c, two other com- ^^^^ 

manders, Datis and Artaphernes, were found to do the work. 
Landing in the island of Euboea, they crossed into Attica, but 
at Marathon they were met and defeated by the Athenians led 
by Miltiades. Thus for the first time was the conqueriug Per- 
sian checked by the Greek. 

In the next ten years, both sides were busy preparing for 
another struggle. In Athens, under the leadership of Themis- 
tocles, a fleet was constructed. In the east, Darius had died 



128 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

and Xerxes was Great King. In 480 b.c, the immense host of 
the Persians finally appeared. Step by step, Xerxes made his 
way south, till he was master of all Greece north of the Isth- 
mus. In his progress, he had met and experienced the quality 
of Hellenic valor at Thermopylae. Finally, came the disaster 
at Salamis and 'the withdrawal of Xerxes and his host. Not 
all his host, however ; Mardonius and a body of picked troops 
were left behind, only to be routed at Plataea by the combined 
armies of nearly all Greece under the command of the Spar- 
tan Pausanias. The Persian invasion of Greece was now over 
forever, and the same year the Avar was carried into Asia Minor, 
- where the captains of the fleet won the victory of Mycale. 

In the west, these years were also years of a foreign invasion. 
Called in by one of the tyrants of Sicily, Hamilcar, king of 
Carthage, threatened for the moment to subjugate the island. 
Here, too, a savior was found; at Himera, Hamilcar was so 
completely routed by the tyrant Gelon that for years to come 
Hellenic Sicily was free from the danger of a Carthaginian 
invasion. In the east, till the rise of the power of Macedonia, 
the Greeks had no enemies to fear except those who were born 
within Hellas itself. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) Was there any excuse for the states that submitted to the 

opics Persians ? (2) What was the Greek ideal of a state which tended 

to prevent a united resistance to Persia ? (3) Why did Marathon 
make democracy an "accomplished fact" at Athens? (4) Did 
the later history of Greece and Persia show that Themistocles 
was right or wrong in insisting upon the importance of a fleet ? 

(5) Was the ostracism of Aristides a good thing for Athens ? 

(6) Had the conduct of the Peloponnesians before the battles of 
Salamis and Plataea a sufficient justification ? (7) What has been 
the last armed conflict between the Greeks and the Orientals ? 

Search (8) Life on board an ancient galley. (9) Life in a Greek 

camp in time of war. (10) Ancient accounts of fighting in 
battle. (11) How were the Greek colonies governed? (12) 
The good side of the Persian empire. (13) Accounts of modern 
visits to the battlefield of Marathon. (14) Other battles of Ther- 



topics 



THE FOREIGN INVASIONS OF HELLAS 



129 



mopylse. (15) Greek opinions of the Persians. (16) What do 
you think of Themistocles ? (17) History of Sicily from 480 to 
415 B.C. 

• REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 52, 58, 59, 108, 126, 162. Geography 

Bury, History of Greece^ ch. vii. ; Holm, History of Greece^ II. Modern 

chs. vi.-viii. ; Oman, History of Greece^ chs. xvii.-xxi. ; Cox, authorities 

Greeks and Persians, chs. vi.-viii. ; Allcroft, Making of Athens, 

chs. ii.-vi. ; Allcroft and Masom, History of iSicily, chs. i.-iii. ; 

Abbott, History of Greece, II. chs. i.-vi. xii. ; Curtius, History 

of Greece, II. bk. iii. ch. i.. III. bk. iv. ch. iii. ; Freeman, Stoi^ 

of Sicily, chs. v. vi. ; Grote, History of Greece, IV. ch. xxxvi., V. 

chs. xxxviii.-xliii. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 

Sources in Schools, § 13 ; Herodotus, History, bks. vi.-ix. ; 

Plutarch, Lives, Aristeides, Themistocles ; ^schylus, Persians ; 

Diodorus, fragments of bks. ix. x., bk. xi. 

A. J. Church, Stories from Herodotus. Illustrative 

work 




Return of the Greeks from Salamis. 
Painting by F. Cormou. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE BUILDING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 

The last Persian had scarcely retreated across the border, 
when the Athenians began to return into Attica. With a 

viaror born of the consciousness of the part which they 

117 Re- ± o 

building of had played in the defeat of the Persians, they set to work 

Athens ^^ rebuild the city which had been razed by Xerxes and 

Mardonius. In this work, Themistocles was the prime mover : 

he proposed, first, to reestablish the people in their homes; 

then to provide the city 
with adequate defenses ; 
and finally, to develop 
still further the re- 
sources of the Piraeus, 
the commercial port. 
Against this work, 
many cities raised a 
vigorous protest: Sparta 
especially professed to 
fear that Athens was 
building a stronghold which the Persians might occupy 
if they ever came again. Themistocles, however, believing 
that the protests were due merely to jealousy, succeeded in 
outwitting Sparta; and the fortifications went forward with- 
out molestation. When the walls were nearly finished, he 
allowed the Spartans to see how they had been deceived. 
Since they were unable to prevent a thing which had already 
been comjjleted, the Spartans acquiesced; but till his death, 
they treasured up against Themistocles the memory of the 
trick which he had played upon them. 

130 




Vicinity of Athens. 



THE BUILDING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 131 

While these petty intrigues were going on at home, the 
united fleet was accomplishing wonders in the east. After 
the battle of Mycale, the fleet maneuvered in the region lis. Spar- 
of the Hellespont, redeeming cities out of the hands of *^^ ^f^' 
the Persians. In 478 b.c. the ephors of Sparta sent out fleet 

Pausanias, the hero of Plata^a, as admiral. Under him an 
attack was made first upon the island of Cyprus, and then 
upon Byzantium; Byzantium was taken, and thus the way 
into the Black Sea was opened once more. 

The success of Pausanias, and the lack of restraint in a 
command far from home, seem to have turned his head ; and 
he adopted toward the other captains of the fleet the airs of 
an eastern despot : consequently, there grew up a desire to 
throw off the yoke of Spartan leadership. Among the cap- 
tains of the Athenian ships were Aristides and Cimon, son of 
Miltiades ; and to them the lonians turned more and more as 
they grew discontented with the arrogance of Pausanias. Be- 
fore long the opportunity arrived for which the lonians were 
waiting ; rumors of treasonable correspondence with the Per- 
sian court began to fill the air; and the captains, eager to 
believe anything against their admiral, brought these reports 
to the attention of the ephors. As a result, Pausanias was 
recalled to stand trial for treason. Since nothing could be 
proved against him, for the time he was allowed to go in 
freedom. 

Xext year (477 b.c.) the ephors sent out a new com- 
mander ; but the lonians refused to accept the Spartan, and 
he returned without having taken any part in the yearly maneu- 
vers. " Henceforth," says Thuc^^dides, " the Spartans Thncydldes, 
sent out no more commanders, for they were afraid that *• ^^ 

those whom they appointed would be corrupted as they had 
found to be the case with Pausanias. They had had .enough 
of the Persian war; they thought that the Athenians were 
fully able to lead, and at that time they believed the Athe- 



132 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

nians to be their friends." On the withdrawal of the Spartans, 

there came over the organization of the fleet an important 

change, which we shall discuss later. Meanwhile we must 

follow events in Sparta and Athens. 

Though the trial which the ephors condncted in 478 e.g. 

should have apprised Pausanias that his conduct would be 

119. End of closely watched, he seems to have entirely disregarded 

Pausanias ^^j warning. Finally, in 468 b.c, conclusive evidence 

and Themis- ^ ^' '. 

tocles of his treasonable correspondence with the Persians was 

carried before the ephors by a slave, and his death was decreed. 

He took refuge in one of the temples, where he was inviolable 

from any weapon ; but he was walled up and starved to death — 

a warning to all Spartans that not even the king could commit 

a wrong without punishment. 

The loss of Pausanias could have been borne by Greece 
well enough ; after all, he had been little more than the child 
of fortune. Forsaken by his goddess, who had raised him to 
the pinnacle of fame, he did little to distinguish himself or 
his city, after the battle of Platsea, twelve years before his 
death. 

With Pausanias was dragged down a much greater man, 
Themistocles. Since the days of the rebuilding of Athens, 
his influence had grown steadily less, till in 471 e.g., for some 
reason not entirely clear, he was banished and retired to 
Argos. From that city he seems to have spread democratic 
doctrines throughout the Peloponnesus, much to the disgust 
of the Spartans. When, in 468 e.g., the letters which incrim- 
inated Pausanias were discovered, the Spartans professed to 
find in them also evidence of the guilt of Themistocles. At 
their request, he was recalled to Athens to stand trial. 
Whether guilty or not, he was afraid to trust himself to his 
countr^jmen and fled to Asia Minor. Ultimately, he inade his 
way to the Persian court, where he was received with high 
honors : an estate in Asia Minor was granted to him, and here 



THE BUILDING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 



138 



120. Organ- 
ization of 
the Delian 
Confeder- 
acy (477 
B.C.) 



he lived, a broken and disappointed man, till his death in 
458 B.C. 

Meanwhile a new Greek power sprang into existence. We 
have seen that in 477 B.C., Sparta withdrew from affairs in the 
eastern ^gean; in that same year, the captains of the 
general fleet intrusted to Aristides the task of organizing 
a confederacy among the cities represented by the ships. 
From the days of old, the Ionian Greeks had been organ- 
ized, for the purpose of worshiping Apollo, into a re- 
ligious league ; and on this basis Aristides now created a 
political union, the so-called Delian Confederacy. The pur- 
pose of the combination was pri- 
marily to protect the cities from 
Persian aggression ; and, in 
general, it was to fight the bat- 
tles of the Greeks against their 
enemies. With few exceptions, 
the minor members of the con- 
federacy were Ionian Greeks ; 
each city was expected to contrib- 
ute annually to a common chest 
a fixed sum or an equivalent in 
ships ; no member might secede, 
and force might be used to com- 
pel the payment of dues. In 
its deliberations, which were held in the temple of Apollo on 
the island of Delos, all members were equal ; but Athens, owing 
to the preponderating size of her navy, was always to have the 
presidency. 

Though the organization of the confederacy was the work 

of Aristides, the active campaigning was intrusted to 221. Cam- 

Cimon as admiral. In 476 b.c, he proceeded with the paigns of 

Cimon 
fleet against Eion on the Thracian coast, and succeeded (477-470 

in dislodging the Persians here and all along the northern ^•^•) 




Grotto of Apollo at Delos. 

On the mouutain side above the 
temple. 



134 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

shore of the ^gean. Two years later, the fleet achieved 
another signal success : Scyros, the headquarters of a band of 
pirates in the ^gean, was taken, and thus a great nuisance 
was abated. Thenceforth, the island became a strong naval 
station where all ships might stop. Unfortunately, the his- 
tory of the next few years is almost entirely lost ; still we can 
gather from later conditions how great must have been the 
activity of Cimon and his captains. Year after year, they 
sailed up and down the ^gean, restoring the islands and 
the cities of the coast to independence ; till, by 470 e.g., all 
danger from Persian attacks was practically at an end. 

By this time, the allies were becoming less willing to bear 
the burdens of the confederacy. Many demanded, now that 
122. Con- the danger was passed, that the confederacy should be 
becomes an disbanded; others, "who disliked military service and 
Athenian absence from home, agreed to contribute a regular sum 
Plutarch ^^ money instead of ships ; whereby the Athenian navy 
Cimon was proportionately increased, while they themselves 

were always untrained and unprepared for war." The result 
was inevitable : the Athenian power grew and the allies lost 
all interest in the confederacy. First they ceased to contrib- 
ute ships, and finally they refused to pay their contributions 
to the common chest. That was the signal for the Athenians 
to collect the dues by force; and when that had been done, 
the allies remained in the confederacy not because they wished 
to remain, but because they feared the Athenian fleet. For 
example, in 470 e.g. the island state of Naxos attempted to 
withdraw ; but the Athenians conducted a vigorous campaign 
against the rebels, and the following year the city was brought 
back into the confederacy: not as a free member, however; 
Thucydides, henceforth, Kaxos was treated as a dependency of Athens. 
^' ^* " This was the first of the allied cities which was en- 

slaved contrary to Hellenic law ; the turn of the others came 
later." 



THE BUILDING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 135 

Everything now seemed serene within the confederacy ; in 
the year 468 B.C., the fleet met and completely defeated the 
Persians at the Eurymedon, on the southern coast of Asia 
Minor. The result, besides augmenting the reputation of 
Cimon, added considerably to the power of the confederacy ; 
for thenceforth from the shores of Greece to the southern coast 
of Asia Minor its authority was undisputed. Then, in 465 
B.C., another of the allies, Thasos, off the coast of Thrace, 
attempted to dispute the overlordship of Athens. In the war 
which followed, after a resistance of two years, the island was 
forced to surrender. Athens was now complete mistress of the 
^gean ; the Delian Confederancy had ceased to exist in every- 
thing but name ; in its place, there had grown up an Athenian 
empire. 

We can well believe that Sparta viewed with increasing 

jealousy the development of Athenian power. When news 

of the intended revolt of Thasos was brought to the city, i23. Helot 

the elders promised aid against Athens: but iust before revolt in 

Lacedsemon 
the expedition set out, an earthquake destroyed almost the (464-456 

entire population of the city, and forced the Spartans ^"^"^ 

to abandon their purpose. To add to their difficulties, the 
Helots now rose in revolt ; the Messenians were most active, 
and for a time the very existence of Sparta was threatened ; 
for two years the Spartans tried in vain to dislodge the Mes- 
senians from* their stronghold, Mount Ithome ; and when they 
found all their efforts unavailing, they ai3pealed to Athens to 
bring siege apparatus to their aid. 

In Athens, political parties were no longer divided on the 
same issues as in the days of Themistocles and Aristides. 
Cimon, the leader of the conservative party, favored the 124. Politi- 
division of power in Greece between Athens and Sparta, ^^^ Athens 
and demanded that the aid for which the Spartans prayed (462 B.C.; 
should be sent. The leaders of the democrats, Ephialtes and 
Pericles, opposed him, but Cimon's popularity carried the day, 



136 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

and the expedition was sent out. When the Athenians arrived 
at Mount Ithome, they found that they were as powerless against 
the Messenian defenses as the Spartans had been, and soon 
rumors began to spread through the Spartan camp that the 
Athenians had come on the mere pretense of helping Sparta; 
that their real purpose was to abet the Messenians in' the war. 
In consequence, the Spartans found a pretense for asking the 
Athenians to withdraw, and the army marched back inglori- 
ously to Athens. The blame for the affair was put on Cimon, 
and this odium, added to his active opposition to certain con- 
stitutional changes which Ephialtes and Pericles were advoca- 
ting, led in 461 b.c. to his ostracism. 

In the Peloponnesus, the war dragged on for several years 
longer. In the end, the Messenians w^ere forced to surrender, 
but not until they had obtained permission to leave the Pelo- 
ponnesus, if they wished, and settle at ISTaupactus, an Athenian 
colony in ^tolia. 

In the eighteen years between the battle of Platsea and the 
ostracism of Cimon, many changes came about. The old leaders 
125 Sum- — Themistocles, Aristides, and Pausanias — either died 
mary or went into exile ; new leaders took their place. Athens, 

under the leadership of Cimon, built for herself an empire 
which encircled almost the entire ^gean Sea, and formed the 
first really powerful Greek state. Unfortunately, this em- 
pire was founded on arrogant and unstable principles. Sparta, 
on the other hand, lost her control in Ionian Greece ; for a 
time, indeed, the very existence of the Spartan state hung in 
the balance. 

In the last years of the period important constitutional 
changes were proposed in Athens ; and as a result of his oppo- 
sition to these changes, Cimon was ostracized, and the city was 
left in the hands of the extreme democrats, who might now 
carry out as they i:>leased their schemes for reform. 



THE BUILDING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 137 



TOPICS 

(1) Was Sparta's protest against the rebuilding of the fortili- Suggestive 
cations of Athens consistent with her policy in the Persian war ? °^^^® 
What motives prompted Sparta to issue such a protest ? (2) Com- 
pare Themistocles with Pausanias and Aristides as to character 
and deeds. Why did Sparta dislike his presence in the Pelopon- 
nesus ? (3) Compare the Delian Confederacy with the Confedera- 
tion in the early history of the United States. In which did the 
governing body have the greater power ? (4) Was Athens justi- 
fied in holding the confederacy of Delos together by the means 
she employed ? Give your reasons. (5) Was the treatment of 
Naxos legal according to the constitution of the confederacy ? 
(6) Distinguish between a confederacy and an empire. (7) What 
connection was there between the Helots and the Messenians ? 
(8) Compare the political parties in Athens at the time of Themis- 
tocles and Aristides with those at the time of Cimon, Ephialtes, 
and Pericles. (9) In 461 b.c, was Athens or Sparta more power- 
ful ? Give your reasons. 

(10) Character of Pausanias. (11) Accounts of the island of Search 
Delos. (12) Life in an island city of Greece. (13) Ancient ac- °^^^^ 
counts of the Helots. (14) Modern accounts of the Helots. (15) How 
long did it take to send news from Athens to Byzantium ? 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 108, 162. Geography 

Bury, History of Greece., ch. viii. ; Holm, History of Greece., Modern 
II. chs. vi.-xi. ; Abbott, History of Greece, II. chs. vi.-viii. ; All- authorities 
croft, The 3Iaking of Athens, chs. vii.-ix. xii. ; Gilbert, Co7i- 
stitutional Antiquities of Athens and Sparta, pp. 416-434 ; Cox, 
Athenian Empire, ch. i., — Greek Statesmen, I,, Aristeides, 
Themistokles, Pausanias; II., Ephialtes, Kinion [Cimon]; Cur- 
tius. History of Greece, III. bk. iv. ch. iii. ; Grote, History 
of Greece, V. chs. xliii.-xlv. ; Oman, History of Greece, chs. 
xxii. xxiii. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 14 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, chs. 
23-25; Thucydides, bk. i. chs. 89-118, 128-138; Plutarch, Lives, 
Themistocles, Aristeides, Cimon ; Diodorus, bk. xi. 



E. Bulwer, Pausanias the Spartan. lUustrative 

work 



WOLF. ANC. HIST. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE AGE OF PERICLES 

The ostracism of Cimon marks the beginning of a change 

in the policy of the city of Athens. While Cimon was 

126 Chane- ^^Imiral, he had conceived of Hellas as a united coun- 

in Athenian try under the leadership of two great powers, — Athens 

po icy .^ control of the maritime cities, Sparta of the inland 

states. In the same year that Cimon was ostracized (461 b.c), 

Ephialtes was murdered, and thus Pericles became sole leader 

of the democracy. He frankly abandoned the policy of Cimon 

and proceeded to use all the resources of the city in building 

up the power of Athens on land as well as on sea. 

Already, a year earlier, he had concluded alliances with 
Argos and Thessaly ; and now another opportunity offered 

for extending the influence of 
Athens, and Pericles gladly ac- 
cepted it. On the Isthmus, Megara 
and Corinth were quarreling over 

boundaries, and Corinth was 
Coin of Argos. , . , . , -,■, 

triumphing over her smaller 

neighbor: Megara applied to Athens for aid. Alliance with 
Megara meant Avar with Corinth; but the Megarians offered 
as the price of assistance the control of her two ports, one on 
the Saronic Gulf, the other on the Gulf of Corinth — a gate 
which would open to Athens the commerce of the west. 

For this price, Pericles was willing to assume the war. Cor- 
inth, on her side, sought allies among the states of the Pelo- 
ponnesus. Sparta was still busy with her war against the 
Helots and could not render assistance ; but the smaller states 

138 




THE AGE OF PERICLES 139 

were willing to engage in the venture, and ^gina also readily 
responded to Corinth's appeal. Thus, in 458 b.c, two groups 
of states were arrayed against each other : on the one side, 
Athens supported by her Ionian dependencies, and by Argos, 
The'ssaly, and Megara; on the other, Corinth, ^Egina, and a 
number of smaller Dorian states. 

In 457 B.C. Sparta found herself in a position to enter the 
lists also. Trouble in the north between Phocis and Doris 
gave her a pretext for marching into central Greece. 127. Fight 
Here, the Spartans set to work to stir up the Boeotians °^ ^Greece 
and those Athenians who were entirely out of sym- (457 B.C.) 
pathy with the policy of Pericles. On the Isthmus, the arms 
of Athens were prospering ; so that the Athenians had even 
found time to send an expedition to aid the Egyptians in a 
war against the Persian king. To add to the complexity of 
the situation, Athens was now forced to send an army into 
Boeotia to dislodge the Spartans. To understand the crisis of 
457 B.C., then, we must remember that the Athenian forces 
were engaged in three different places. 

The Athenian and Spartan armies met in battle near 
Tanagra, in Boeotia, and the Spartans left the field the victors, 
owing to the treachery of some Thessalian cavalry, which 
during the fight deserted the Athenian ranks. That the 
victory was dearly bought is proved by the fact that the 
Spartans at once abandoned central Greece and retired into 
the Peloponnesus.' On the other hand, the Athenians imme- 
diately organized another army, and before the winter set in 
the defeat at Tanagra had been redeemed by a victory at 
Q^nophyta, where the Boeotians were beaten and forced into 
an alliance with the Athenians. The Phocians and Locrians 
now threw in their fortunes with Athens, and thus nearly all 
central Greece bowed to the Athenian master. 

In the Saronic Gulf and along its borders, the Athenian 
arms were successful. The Corinthians were beaten back, and 




140 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

JEgina, after a long struggle, was forced to capitulate and 
join the confederacy as a tribute-paying member (456 B.C.). 

So far, with the single exception 
of the Thessalian alliance, every- 

128. Athens thing that Pericles had un- 
at 1jli6 
height of dertaken had flowered into 

her power success. Including the de- 

T . 1 11- aji Coin of ^gina. 

pendencies and allies, Athens was 

in control of all central Greece from Megara to Thermopy- 
lae ; in the Peloponnesus, she had Argos and Achaia as allies, 
and on the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth, she con- 
trolled the important naval station at Naupactus. From 
Euboea by way of Scyros and Chalcidice, into the Hellespont 
and the Euxine beyond, along the coast of Asia Minor to Caria 
and Lycia, and throughout the islands, the Athenian galley 
might travel without touching at a single port outside the 
Athenian dominion. Only three islands — Lesbos, Chios, and 
Samos — preserved even a nominal independence. As far as 
human intelligence could see, no serious danger threatened the 
city on any side. 

Still, there were two things which might cause anxiety to 
far-seeing citizens : the oligarchs whom Pericles had exiled 
from the cities of Boeotia might cause the city trouble; and 
the force which had been sent to Egypt had no apparent hope 
of ultimate success. Finally, in 454 B.C., word came that the 
whole expedition had fallen into Persian hands. A feeling 
of awe and terror must have run through the breasts of the 
people, for this was their first serious reverse since the days 
of the Persian invasion, half a century before. 

Fortunately for Athens, Cimon had been recalled some time 

129. Recall before the disaster. Now, in the hour of need, when an 
nd Ss^ attack from any of the Peloponnesiau states would have 

death done infinite harm, Cimon was called upon to exercise 

his good influences with Sparta. Negotiations were begun, but 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 141 

the work proceeded slowly, for the truce was not concluded 
till 450 B.C. Still the purpose of the Athenians was accom 
plished; danger from attack within Greece was averted, and 
Athens could devote her time to repairing her fortunes beyond 
the seas. 

When Ciraon came back to Athens in 457 b.c, it was with the 
understanding "that he should go out to sea with a fleet piutarch, 
of two hundred ships, and be commander in chief abroad, Cimoii 

with the design to reduce the king of Persia's territories ; 
that Pericles should have all the power at home." In 449 b.c, 
Cimon finally embarked, bent on wresting Cyprus from the 
Persians. What success he attained we may never know, 
since only the most fragmentary accounts of the expedition 
remain ; of the whole affair only this is certain : that Cimon 
never returned to Athens. Before he finished the work he 
had set out to do, he died ; and after his death, the expedition 
wasted its strength and accomplished nothing. 

The death of Cimon, like his ostracism twelve years before, 
marks the end of an epoch in Greek history. The change in 
the aspect of affairs may be summed up in these few words 
of Plutarch: "After his death, there was not one com- piutarch 
mander among the Greeks that did anything considerable Cimoii 

against the Persians." Till the time of Alexander, more than 
a century later, the Greeks made no headway in the east, and 
Greek ideas did not extend among non-Hellenic peoples. 
Henceforth, for almost a hundred years, the history of Greece 
is the history of the struggle among the several states for 
supremacy. 

"In Cimon, Athens lost one of her greatest men; brave, 
free-handed, affable, a genuine aristocrat, who worked hard 
when it was necessary, and did not grudge himself or Holm, II. 
others recreation when it was not. . . . Athens was ^''- ^^^^• 
never again so powerful as under Cimon, and her power was 
not due to him alone. . . . His example had beneficial effects. 



142 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



There was room for men beside him, whereas Pericles eclipsed 

all his contemporaries." 

For three years after the death of Cimon, the city enjoyed 

unbroken peace ; then trouble, which showed the weakness of 

130 End of ^ ^^i^d empire founded on force, suddenly broke out on 

the Athe- ^]i sides. In Boeotia, the oligarchs, whom Pericles had 
nian land ,t i • .^ , i 

empire deposed ten years beiore, gathered m the north, near 

(446 B.C.) Ch^eronea, and the Athenian army sent to subdue them 
was surprised and terribly defeated a few miles south of the 
city. So complete was the defeat, that Athens was forced, by 
this one blow, to relinquish all hold on central Greece. Then 
followed, in quick succession, revolts in Euboea and Megara, 
and a Spartan invasion. The revolt in Euboea was put down, 
and the Spartan attack came to nothing ; but Megara succeeded 
in throwing off the yoke of dependence, and her ports on the 
two gulfs were lost to Athens. 

The results of this one summer's campaign showed Pericles 
the weakness of the Athenian land empire, and hurried him into 

. , another arrangement 

with Sparta and her 
allies, — the famous 
Thirty Years' Truce. 
By it Athens relin- 
quished all her allies 
in Greece proper ex- 
cept Platsea in Boeotia 
and Naupactus in 
J^tolia. In maritime 
Greece, including ^gi- 
na and Euboea, she was 
to retain her supremacy. Each of the parties recognized 
the league of the other and bound itself not to seek allies 
among the other's dependencies. Greece, with the exception 
of Thessaly and some of the less important states, was thus 







Temple at yEgina. 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 143 

again divided into two parts ; on one side a Dorian confed- 
eracy, the Peloponnesian League ; on the other, an Athenian- 
Ionian empire, the Delian Confederacy. Political conditions 
were much the same as in the time of the ascendency of 
Cimon ; but between the two great rivals, Athens and Sparta, 
there existed a bitterness of feeling which was certain sooner 
or later to lead to war. 

Still, Athens was better off than she had been for some years 
past. She had only her maritime empire to care for, and on 
the seas Athens had been undisputed mistress since the 131. The 
days when Themistocles converted her fighting strength peace %45- 
into a navy. For a period of fourteen years, the city 431 B.C.) 
enjoyed an era of almost unbroken peace. Only once in all 
that time, so far as we know, were the war galleys launched 
for a hostile expedition; in 440 b.c, Samos, dissatisfied with 
her political relations to Athens, tried to withdraw from the 
confederacy, but the revolt was soon quelled, and the imperial 
city was then allowed to enjoy unbroken peace. These are 
the years of the greatest intellectual and artistic development 
in the entire history of Athens and of Greece. 



From the ostracism of Cimon in 461 b.c. to the signing of 
the Thirty Years' Truce in 445 e.g., Greece passed through 
many rapid changes. In the first place, Pericles came 132. sum- 
to the head of affairs in Athens, and at once undertook m&rj 

to make Athens supreme on both land and sea. By 450 b.c, 
he had accomplished his purpose ; but what he had gained by 
ten years of war he lost in an even shorter time, for by the 
Thirty Years' Truce Athens relinquished all her claims upon 
her allies in central and southern Greece except Plat^a and 
Naupactus. Within those sixteen years, also, the war with 
Persia finally came to an end. In the expedition against 
Cyprus, Cimon died, and after him no Greek commander for 
nearly fifty years undertook to make war upon Persia. Finally, 



144 



THE KISE OE HELLAS 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



in the sixteen years' contest for the control of central Greece, 

there had been sown seeds of hatred between Athens and 

Sparta, which were soon to bear bitter fruit in the great 

Peloponnesian war. 

TOPICS 

(1) Was Cimon's ideal capable of realization ? Give your rea- 
sons. (2) What was the moving cause for the interference of 
Athens in the affairs of Megara and Corinth ? (3) Why was Cimon 
rather than Pericles called upon to effect the first truce with Sparta ? 
Use this incident for a comparison of the characters and policies 

of the two men. (4) Trace 

the career of Cimon. (5) 
Would the loss of the navy 
or of the army have been 
worse for Athens .at the 
time when she lost central 
Greece ? (0) What was the 
character of the forces on 
which Athens and Sparta 
relied to enforce the pro- 
visions of the Thirty Years' 
Truce ? (7) What does the 
term " truce " show about 
the probable future relations 
between the two ? 

(8) Island of Cyprus in Greek times. 
(10) Ancient opinions of the Boeotians 
eral. (12) The greatness of Corinth, 
historian. 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 




Vase from Cyprus. 



(9) Character of Cimon. 
(11) Pericles as a gen- 
(13) Thucydides as a 



REFERENCES 



See maps, pp. 58, 59, 162. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. ix. ; Holm, History of Greece, II. 
chs. xiii.-xx. xxv. ; Abbott, History of Greece, II. chs. ix.-xi. ; All- 
croft, The Making of Athens, ch. x.; Cox, The Athenian Empire, 
ch. '\\., — Greek Statesmen, II., Ephialtes, Kimon [Cimon], Peri- 
kles; Fowler, City-State, ch. vi.; Curtius, History of Greece, II. 
bk. iii. ch. iii.. III. bk. iv. ch. iii. ; Grote, History of Greece, 
V. chs. xlv. xlvi., VI. ch. xlvii., VII. ch. Ivii. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 15 ; Thucydides, bks. i. ii. ; Plutarch, Lives, 
Cimon, Pericles ; Diodorus, bks. xi. xii. 

W. S. Landor, Pericles and Aspasia ; Miss Lynn, Amymone. 



CHAPTER XII. 
LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART IN THE TIME OF PERICLES 

So far we have been studying the constitutional and politi- 
cal history of the Greek people of twenty -five centuries ago; 
let us pause n6w to learn something about their social and 
intellectual life. 

The dress of the Greeks was simple. Next to the body 
all classes wore a tunic, called a chiton. Over this the better 
classes draped a long flowing garment, called the himatiou 133. Dress 
(picture, p. 152). The dress of the women was almost ex- ^^ of^he 
actly like that of the men : they, too, wore the tunic and people 

the himation, or some substitute therefor, which, however, was 
fuller in proportions than that of the men, and made of more 
delicate materials. Garments were usually made of wool or 
linen. White was the common color, but colored fabrics, espe- 
cially of saffron hue, were not unusual. Head coverings, except 
for those on a journey or those exposed to the sun. Were rare. 
Shoes, in the modern sense, were worn only by special classes 
whose work required a life in the field ; the ordinary foot gear 
was the sandal. In general, the dress was much simpler than 
in modern times ; fashions changed but little, and everything 
was designed for comfort in a warm and equable climate. 

An ancient Greek city little resembled a modern one in 
appearance. There were no immense business blocks such as 
line the streets of our great cities, and the residence quar- 
ters were narrow and inconveniently arranged. The houses 
presented a plain unbroken front to the street except for the 
small doors and still smaller unglazed windows of the second 
story. Within the outer door, which opened into the street, 

145 



146 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



ran a small entrance hall leading to the principal room of the 
house, a large central hall, blackened by smoke, for Greek 
houses had no chimneys. Beyond, this room was an open 
courtyard from which the house received most of its light and 
air; about this courtyard were ranged sleeping apartments 
and other rooms. The women, who rarely mingled with the 
men, had separate apartments, either in a section of the house 
beyond the court or in the second story. Measured by modern 




Interior of a Greek House. (Restoration.) 



standards, the house was inconvenient, ill-drained, and chilly ; 
but to the Greek gentleman that made little difference, for 
most of his time he lived outdoors. 

All classes rose early. Breakfast was always a simple 

meal, consisting of bread, light wines, and sometimes fruit. 

134 Daily ^^^^^' breakfast, the workmen hurried away to their 

daily tasks, while the better classes, who took things 

more easily, wandered off to the market place, where 

one was sure to meet friends and business acquaintances and 



Iffe and 
education 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 147 

hear all the gossip of the city. The market place was not 
only a center for the sale of wares ; it served the further pur- 
pose of a general meeting place for the exchange of ideas. 
After the market closed at noon, when the citizen had trans- 
acted all his business and heard all the news, he retired to 
his home for a light luncheon and an afternoon nap. In the 
evening, the principal meal of the day was served. If no 
guests were present, the women dined with the men ; when 
guests were at the table, the women never appeared. In 
general, the position of women was much inferior to that of 
the women of to-day. 

The education of the girls, except in Sparta, was entirely 
neglected ; the boys were carefully trained from earliest child- 
hood. In Sparta, this training was all devoted to the rearing 
of perfect soldiers ; in the other cities, the purpose of educa- 
tion was to bring up a well-balanced man. Education, though 
not conducted at public expense, was carefully regulated. 
The course of study, consisting of reading, writing, arithmetic, 
grammar, and the study of the ancient writers, was much sim- 
pler than with us; but it prepared the boy for the part he 
was to play in the world at least as well as our schools da 
to-day. Besides his intellectual training, the boy was required 
to attend the gymnasium, so that the body might be developed 
to an equal perfection with the mind. The noblest type of 
citizen, said the Greek, was the one who was ready to serve 
the state either with a well-equipped mind or with a perfectly 
trained body. 

When the boy reached his sixteenth or eighteenth year, his 
regular education ceased. He was now enrolled among the 
citizens, and was free to enjoy the privileges, and bound ^gg ,^^ 
to share the burdens, of his new position. For a year or army and 
two at least, he was usually required to serve in the 
army, doing garrison duty or guarding the frontier. Most of 
the soldiers were armed with a spear and a short sword, and 



148 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



protected by a helmet, a shield, and greaves. Such heavy- 
armed soldiers were called hopUtes ; every army had also 
auxiliary corps of light-armed troops, attendant on the hop- 
lites. Cavalry played but little part in the fighting force, 

except in Thessaly and in 
Boeotia. 

Among the maritime cities, 
more attention was paid to 
the navy than to the army. 
The fighting ships were 
ordinarily propelled by oars- 
men ranged in three tiers; 
hence the name triremes, by 
which such ships were 
called (picture, p. 125). In 
cruising, when the wind was 
favorable, sail was hoisted ; 
but in action the captain 
depended upon his oars. 
Naval battles were usually 
confined to maneuvers for 
position, the object being to 
ram and sink the enemy. 
Attacks with missiles and 
by boarding were never practiced by the Greeks. 

Though there was always a considerable class of free peasants 
and artisans among the Greeks, manual labor was largely rele- 
136. The gated to the slaves. The effect of slavery on Greek 
slaves society was in general very degrading; it fostered the 

worst passions and gave opportunity for dreadful cruelty. 
Still the slaves, often of the same race as the masters, were for 
the most part well treated. Many of them were employed as 
managers and overseers, and thus the Greek masters were 
left with abundant leisure, which, to their credit be it said, 




HOPLITE. 

Bronze from Dodona. 



i 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 149 

they devoted to public service and to the cultivation of intel- 
lectual and artistic tastes. While the slaves were at work, the 
masters were attending political meetings in the market place, 
or sitting in the theaters watching the plays, or standing in 
the arcades and lyceums listening to the lectures of the phi- 
losophers. The result was the growth of an artistic taste and 
the development of an art and literature which have been an 
inexhaustible well of inspiration for all later ages. 

In the years immediately after the Persian invasion, a revul- 
sion of feeling had in part restored the aristocrats to power in 
Athens. "After the Persian war," says Aristotle, "the 137._Poli- 
council of the Areopagus recovered strength and ruled ^^ys of 
the state; not that any law conferred the hegemony on Pericles 

them, but because the aristocratic party had the credit Aristotle, 

^ ^ '^ Ath. Consti- 

of the victory at Salamis." This state of affairs lasted tution, 23 

till 461 B.C., when there was a revolution in internal politics, 

the cause of which was double : lirst, Cimon's failure in his 

expedition to Sparta ; and second, the opposition of his party 

to the proposed reduction of the power of the Areopagus. 

The result was that Ephialtes and Pericles were successful; 

Cimon was ostracized, and the Areopagus was deprived of all 

of its powers. Thenceforward, the Athenian government, 

with the last aristocratic restraints removed, was as complete 

a democracy as the ancieftt world was ever to know. 

We must not, however, look upon this government of Athens 

as anything like our modern democracies. The machinery of 

government w^as different : the people acted directly and jgg -p^^, 

not through representatives as we do now ; and though clean de- 

the suffrage was said to be universal, there were still 

large classes who were entirely disfranchised, among them 

the very important class of foreign merchants who lived in the 

Piraeus. With this reservation, the words of Euripides are 

*^^e '' — " Our state is ruled Euripides, 

XT ^ i- 1 K^x. ■ i Suppliants, 

Not of one only man : Athens is free. 4Q3 



150 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

Her people in the order of their course 
Rule year by year, bestowing on the rich 
Advantage none ; the poor hath equal right." 

The one great arbiter of all public affairs was the general 
assembly, the Ecclesia — there every citizen had an equal right 
to speak. No legal restriction was placed on the business 
which might be transacted or on the character of the debate. 
In practice, however, the Ecclesia was ruled, as such bodies 
are sure to be, by a very few men. Thus for over thirty years 
Pericles led the body and without any difficulty swayed it to 
do his will. So long as such men were leaders of the people 
in the Ecclesia, the state was safe under the rule of a general 
assembly ; danger was in store, however, when a man should 
come, who — 
Euripides, " slavering them with talk, 

Suppliants, This w^ay and that, should twist them for his gain." 

410 

Besides the ' Ecclesia, there were, of course, a number of 
executive officers, notably the archons and the ten generals, with 
special functions and duties, but none of them were really free 
and independent ; over all of them the Ecclesia exercised the 
closest supervision ; the whole system was singularly like the 
modern New England town government. 

More interesting even than the Ecclesia was the popular 
supreme court. From beginning to"^end, the Athenian system 
139. Judi- ^^ ^^'^ ^^^ to be simple, for, at some time or other, every 
cial system citizen took his turn at being a judge. Besides the ordi- 
nary judges, who were chosen by lot, since the time of Solon 
there existed in Athens a popular supreme court, the Helisea. 
In its early history, the court did little beyond trying retiring 
government officials for malfeasance in office; but after the 
abolition of the Areopagus, the court rose to a place of su- 
preme importance. To augment its power, the Ecclesia, at 
the direction of Pericles, passed a law providing that every 
juror who served in the court should be paid sufficient for 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 



151 



his services to support his family. Service thus became al- 
most a profession with the older and especially the poorer 
classes, who absorbed much of the power of the government ; 
for before them every sort of case was settled, and from their 
decision there was no appeal. Just as in the case of the Ec- 
clesia, this system, which made the affairs of state the business 
of so large a proportion of the citizens, had great strength so 
long as the leaders were honest and right-minded men ; the 
danger would come when demagogues of a lower type gained 
control over the passions of the people. 

Since the days of the Homeric poems, great changes 
had come over the art and literature of Greece. In the first 

place, the taste for poetry 

f ' , , , -^ 140. Tlie 

had completely changed, age of lyric 

Sometime in the eighth or P°®*^ 

seventh century b.c, epic poets 
had ceased to hold the atten- 
tion of the people, and in their 
place a school of poets arose, 
who sang of their personal 
emotions : their loves, their 
patriotism, their grief for the 
dead, their reverence for the 
gods. These are the lyric poets 
who flourished in Ionia just 
before the Persian wars, and of 
whom we hear the last at the 
courts of the tyrants of Sicily 
early in the fifth century b.c. Among them, the most famous 
are Sappho and Alceeus, who lived in Asia Minor before the 
coming of the Persians, and Simonides (556-4:68 b.c) and 
Pindar (522-448 b.c), who lived to see the full effects of the 
Persian wars, but whose minds always turned back to the age 
when the tyrants had been the patrons of art and literature. 




'• Sappho." 
Pitti Galleiy, Florence. 



152 



THE RISE OE HELLAS 



The Persian wars mark the transition from the age of 

lyric poetry to the age of the drama, the poetry of action, 

141 The o^ ^^^® ^^^® which men live among their fellow-men. 

tragic That the end of the 

dramatists , i i t 4.u^ 

wars should be the 

beginning of the new era is 

natural. The Greeks had 

just come through a strug- 
gle in which the men of 

action had superseded the 

men of thought, and the 

minds of the people were 

full of the fight which 

Greece had made for her 

liberties. 

The first of the three 

great tragic poets was 
142. iEs- ^schylus. Born in 
chylus Attica in the year 

525 B.C., he reached his full 

maturity in time to take 
part in all the great battles 
of the invasion. The im- 
pression which Marathon, 
Salamis, and Platgea left 
on his mind, he embodied 
in his tragedies, especially 
in the Persians, which was 
acted for the first time in 
472 B.C. Yet ^schylus, 
though he represents the 
new spirit of national consciousness, is still, in many ways, the 
poet of the olden times. His tragedies are full of the old re- 
gard for the power of the gods and their influence on the fate 




Sophocles. 

Lateral! Museum, Rome; shows the 

himatiou (p. 145). 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 



153 



of men, full of the fierce personal passions which distinguish 
the elder days from the newer. Before he died, he found 
himself so completely out of harmony with the younger men 
in Athens that he migrated to Sicily, where he found refuge 
at the court of the tyrant of Gela. 

The successor of ^^schylus among the tragic poets was 
Sophocles, whose life covers almost the entire fifth century b.c. 
All his days he lived in Athens; and his works, in conse- ^43 gopho- 

quence, are a mirror of cles 

the intellectual life of his na- 
tive city. Just as ^schylus is 
the poet of the Persian wars 
and the national consciousness 
which resulted from them, so 
Sophocles is the poet of the 
serenity and prosperity which, 
for the most part, marked the 
rule of Pericles. It is true 
that he lived to see important 
changes come over the city, but 
they did not affect his writings ; 
for they came when his place 
had already been taken by a 
newer poet, Euripides. 
Euripides is the exponent of the last years of the fifth 
century b.c, when, as we shall see when we come to study the 
political history of the period, the sentiments and ties 144, Eurip- 
created by the Persian wars had died out, and in their ides 

place a narrower and more selfish policy had arisen. Born, 
according to tradition, in the year of the battle of Salamis, 
Euripides died in the same year as Sophocles. But the lives 
of the two men are entirely different : Sophocles represents 
the spirit of contentment which pervaded Athens in the days . 
of her prosperity ; Euripides, the spirit of unrest and longing 

WOLF, ANC. HIST. 10 




Euripides. 
National Museum, Naples. 



154 THE RISE OF HELLAS 

for new ideals which marks the last years of the century. He 
could no longer believe firmly in the gods of his ancestors, and 
he was bold enough to allow the people to see his skepticism. 
Furthermore, he was pervaded with the spirit of inquiry which 
marks the prose writings of the age. 

Discontent with existing conditions is shown even more 

clearly, though differently, in the comedies of Aristophanes, 

145. Aris- the contemporary of Euripides. Aristophanes lived and 

tophanes, ^^^^^ j^-g comedies between 428 and 388 b.c, in the 

the comic ' 

poet years when the glory of the empire which Cimon and 

Pericles had created was passing away. His life was chiefly 

spent in satirizing the institutions which these men had 

created, and at the same time in sighing for the good old days 

of Themistocles and Miltiades. Unlike Euripides, he had no 

sympathy for the new learning which the philosophers were 

offering the people in exchange for their belief in the gods ; 

for him, these new ideas were subjects for endless ridicule. 

"The world is out of joint," we may suppose him to have 

said ; " would that we might all be transported back to the 

good old days when Greece was fighting for her liberty ! " 

Nearest akin to the poets of the fifth century b.c. were the phi- 

losox^hers. In early times, the thinkers of Greece had busied 

146 Phi- themselves with trying to find out the true nature of 

losophers things, the ultimate reason for their existence. In the 

century early part of the fifth century b.c, the Greeks had been 

^•C- too busy with the practical things of life to enjoy 

such speculations ; but in the middle of the century, when 

all was serene again, there arose a school of philosophers who 

doubted everything, who set aside all the traditions of the 

race, and declared that nothing in the world is certain. 

These men are known as the Sophists. 

Before the century closed, a new philosopher, Socrates, 

arose. Though Socrates is often classed among the Sophists, 

his purpose in life was entirely different; where they pulled 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 



155 




Socrates. 
National Museum, Naples. 



down all the old traditions and left the people nothing, he 

began the process of building up once more. It is true that 

he would accept nothing that could 
not be demonstrated; but, on the 
other hand, his whole life was spent 
in a zealous search after the truth, 
whereas the Sophists quibbled and 
tried to set the world by the ears. 
Late in life Socrates was accused of 
impiety and of corrupting the youth 
of Athens ; for this he was tried and 
condemned to death. 

Among the histories of the fifth 
century B.C., there are only two of 
first-rate importance : the ac- ^.„ 
count of the Persian wars by 

Herodotus, and the critical study of the Peloponnesian 

war by Thucydides. 

Herodotus, a native of Caria, was born about the year 485 

B.C. Throughout most of his 

life (he died in Magna Greecia 

about 420 b.c), he traveled 

from place to place, as we 

should say, with a notebook in 

his hand. At one time or 

another, he visited almost every 

land known to the ancients, 

and all the information which 

he gathered he put together 

ultimately in a history of the 

wars and conquests of the 

Persian kings. He was not 

in the least concerned whether Hekodotus. 

the stories which he set down National Museum, Naples. 



The 

historian 
Herodotus 




156 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 



were true or not; everything that he gathered, he repro- 
duced; his audience might accept or reject as it pleased. 
The history is full of legends and tales, but it also abounds in 
the most valuable information. Above all, it impresses us 
with its perfect satisfaction with Greek national life, with its 
absolute faith in the continued greatness of Athens. In this, 
the work belongs as distinctly to the age of Pericles as the 
history of the Peloponnesian war by Thucydides belongs to the 
following era. 

Born in 470 B.C., Thucydides lived to see the fall of the 
Athenian empire. He had none of the sympathy of Herod- 

148. Thu- ^^^^ with the fables and 

cydides legends which the Greeks 

cherished about their ancestors ; for 
him every incident must have an 
absolute basis in fact. Where 
Herodotus had been most credulous, 
he was most critical. Furthermore, 
as he intended his history for the 
perusal of the statesman and the 
scholar, he put into it very little 
but a careful narrative of cold 
facts. Hence, while the history of 
Herodotus is still most entertaining 
reading for anybody, the history of 
Thucydides requires a critical and intelligent reader ; yet it is 
one of the best models of historical style. 

When the Athenians returned to their city after the battle 

of Platsea, they found scarcely one stone upon another ; a half 

Ath century later, Athens was the most famous city in the 

nian art in world for its art and architecture. This transformation 
was largely the work of two men, — Cimon and Pericles. 
Though a poor man originally, Cimon amassed a great for- 
tune while he was commander of the fleet ; and he spent it freely 




Thucydides. 
National Museum, Naples. 



Cimon'stime 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 



157 



in beautifying the city. To him the city owed several large 
groves or parks where the people might go and enjoy them- 
selves, and also the plans and preparations for the g-reat temples 
which Pericles afterwards 
completed. To his time 
belong at least two of the 
greatest artists of Greece, 
— Myron and Polygnotus. 
Of Polygnotus, who was 
a painter, nothing but the 
tradition of his work re- 
mains ; though the Greeks 
of his age and the follow- 
ing ages probably accom- 
plished much in figure 
painting, — one of the most 
difficult of the arts, — not 
a single example of their 
work has been preserved. 
Of the sculpture of Myron, 
at least reproductions are 
still in existence. His 
special aptitude was the 
presentation of men in 
action, and had he not 
been succeeded by the im- 
mortal Phidias, his name might have come down to us as that 
of the greatest sculptor of the fifth century b.c. 

The work of Cimon was continued by Pericles. All over 
the city, but especially on the Acropolis (j). 90), which had 150. Adom- 
ceased to be the fortress of the city since the building Acropolis 
of the great walls, and had become merely the most by Pericles 
sacred precinct, works of art attested the activity of the great 
leader of the democrac3^ 




Discus Thrower, after Myron. 

Vatican, Rome. Discus throwing was an 
important event in Greek athletics. 



158 



THE RISE OF HELLAS 




Acropolis at Athens. 



151 
Parthenon 



In all his artistic undertakings, Pericles had as his adviser 
Phidias, probably the greatest artist that Greece ever produced. 

By the order of Peri- 
cles, he took charge of 
the entire architectural 
scheme involved in 
the adornment of the 
Acropolis. Much of 
this work of necessity 
he allotted to subordi- 
nates ; but for himself he reserved the most important tasks, 
such as the creation of the statue of the goddess Athene which 
was to adorn the principal temple (picture, p. 74), and the heroic 
statue of the goddess which stood in front of the temple and 
seemed to watch over the fortunes of the city and of Attica. 

The crowning work on the Acropolis was the Parthenon, a 
temple of Athene, in the Doric style (picture, p. 343). Its out- 
Yjjg lines were simple, and, except for the pedimental figures, 
the metopes, and the friezes, the building was without or- 
namentation. Its 
lines were all 
straight, or, more 
strictly, so nearly 
straight that the 
eye could scarcely 
detect the devia- 
tion ; yet in no part 
of the building was 
there any stiffness; 
everywhere there 
was just enough departure from regularity to break the un- 
pleasant effect that is left on the eye by a series of unrelieved 
straight lines. A complete description of the building, such as 
it deserves, would take many pages ; all that we can say here is 




Parthenon. 



LI^E, LETTERS, AND ART 



159 



that never in the history of man has a more nearly perfect 
building been produced. 




Porch of the Caryatides, Erechtheum. 



Besides the Parthenon, the Acropolis boasted of several 

other monumental structures. To the north of it, on the side 

of the hill, was a smaller temple, called the Erechtheum, 152. Fur- 

ther adorn- 
a composite building which presented on the one side a ment of the 

series of columns in the Ionic style, on the other a porch Acropolis 

which was supported by a series of female figures known as the 

Caryatides. On the walls of the Acropolis, facing the city, was 

a beautiful little temple dedicated to the Wingless Victory, 

which rivaled the Parthenon in its perfection. Like the Erech- 



160 



THE RISP: of HELLAS 



theum, it was built in the 
Ionic style, and therefore 
the builders had more 
chance for ornamenta- 
tion than in the Parthe- 
non. Finally, also facing 
the city, came the en- 
trance gates, the Propy- 
hea, a fit introduction to 
the beauties of the en- 
closure beyond. Altogether, the Acropolis at Athens was one of 
the greatest artistic monuments which the world has ever seen. 




Temple of Wingless Victory 



The fifth century b.c. is the age of greatest glory in Greek 
life, art, and literature. In government, during this century, 
153. Sum- Athens, the leader of all the other cities, reached a stage 
mary where the city was under the absolute control of the 

democracy. In saying this, however, we must remember that 
even in the times of Pericles there were large numbers of 
people who had no hand in the government; for power was 
still confined to native-born residents, and thus the democracy 
lacked the elasticity which has been the saving grace of a 
government like that of the United States. 

The intellectual and artistic life of the fifth century may be 
divided into three epochs : the age of Cimon, the age of Peri- 
cles, and the age of the decline of Athenian power. In the 
first, the characteristic which is most notable is the virile 
activity of the people, fully conscious of their victory over 
the Persians, and anxious to try their strength and skill at 
any task. In the second, the striking feature is the perfect 
contentment of the people who have conquered all their 
enemies and are resting on their laurels, unconscious, or only 
vaguely conscious, of and dangers to come. In the third, we 
have reached the period when things are beginning to go 



LIFE, LETTERS, AND ART 161 

wron- in the state, when Athens is losing her power in the 
world, when men are only too sure that the times are out of 
joint. Each one of these characteristics was directly reflected 
in the art and literature of the period. 

TOPICS 

(1) Compare Greek naval warfare ^vith that in the time of the Suggestive 
American Revolution and ^vith the warfare of to-day. (2) Irace 
the history of the council of the Areopagus. (3) Compare Athe- 
nian democracy under CHsthenes and under Pericles in regard to 
the legislative, executive, and judicial departments. (4) Trace the 
historv of the archonship through the time of Pericles. (5) What 
disadvantages do you see in the plan of choosing judges by lot? 
How are thev chosen in your state? (6) Compare the Penclean 
democracy with democracy in the United States. (7) Do you 
think that the presence of such' men as Euripides, Aristophanes, 
and the Sophists would be a good thing for a country ? (8) Wliere 
did most of these learned men dwell? Can you explain why ? 
(9) Which is the more valuable for the purposes X)f history - 
Herodotus or Thucydides ? Why ? 

(10) Present condition of the Acropolis. (U) Gravestones in Search 

Greece (12) The Tanagra figurines. (13) Description of a Greek 
temple (14) What was the most beautiful thing in Greece? 

(15) Greek private houses. (16) Account of a Greek banquet. 

(17) Slavery in Athens. (18) Account of the representation of a 

Greek play. (19) Some of the jokes of Aristophanes. 

REFERENCES 

See references to chapter xi. Allcroft, The Mnking of Athens Modem.^^ 
chs xi xiii. xv. ; Gilbert, Constitutional Antiquities of Athens and 
Sparta pp 170-416 ; Greenidge, Handbook of Greek Constitutional 
History ch vi. ; Holm, History of Greece, II. ch. xxvi. ; Gardner, 
Handbook of^Greek Sculpture, ch. iii. ; Tarbell, History of Greek 
Art chs iii. viii. ; Jebb, Greek Literature, pt. ii. ; Mahaffy, i^ocial 
Life in Greece, chs. vi.-viii. ; Survey of Greek Civilization, ch. v 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 15 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, chs. 
26 ff. ; Thucydides, bks. i. ii. ; Plutarch, Lives, Pericles ; Euripides, 
Suppliants, especially lines 403-410. Illustrative 

Barth^lemi, Young Anacharsis. ^^^^ 

See works on art mentioned above ; Elson Prints ; Perry Pic- pictures 
tures ; Cosmos Pictures ; Harper^ s Black and White ; Witter Series. 



CHAPTER XIIL 
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION 

From the beginning of the Thirty Years' Truce in 445 b.c, 
Greece had been at peace except for a few unimportant con- 
flicts. Nevertheless, the air was charged with electricity, ^54 .^v 
and every one felt that ere long the storm was sure to and Sparta 
break. Though the Peloponnesian League and the Delian *^°^ ^^^ ® 
Confederacy were mutually bound by the truce, few ties 
of sympathy existed between them : the one, with Sparta 
at its head, was almost entirely Dorian, the other almost 
equally Ionian ; and between the two races there existed much 
of that hatred which only brothers can feel toward each other. 

The cities of the Peloponnesian League were almost uni- 
versally governed by oligarchies, the cities of the Delian 
Confederacy by democracies. This divergence was an expres- 
sion of the difference in the mode of life in the cities of the 
two leagues. Most of the members of the Peloi:)onnesian 
League were agricultural states, and in countries where land 
is the chief form of wealth, the few landholders as a nobility 
are sure to control the government. Among the lonians, 
to whom trade and manufacture were the chief interests, any 
man might aspire by his own talents to become a power in the 
state, and democracy was almost inevitable. 

From a military point of view also, the two combinations 
were radically different : the power of the Peloponnesian 
League lay largely in its army ; that of the Delian Confederacy 
in its navy. Finally, the political constitutions of the two were 
unlike : the Peloponnesian League was a loose confederacy, 
bound by ties of immemorial antiquity, whose members owed 

163 



164 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

it no service except in the army in times of war ; the 
Delian Confederacy, which had come into existence scarcely 
fifty years before, was controlled by Athens, and the cities, 
though they flourished under Athenian rule, chafed at the 
tribute and at the careful supervision to which the Athenians 
subjected them. 

In spite of all these differences, or perhaps because of them, 

the two leagues might have gone on side by side for a long 

155. Cor- time without coming into conflict, but that one member 

sponsibiiity ^^ *^^^ Peloponnesian League, Corinth, had interests 

for the war which were exclusively maritime. Since the days when 

Athens had become mistress of the ^gean, Corinth had looked 

with increasing jealousy on the naval power of her neighbor. 

Any chance for another war with Athens would be welcomed, 

and war between Corinth and Athens was nearly certain to 

set the whole Greek world aflame. 

On the coast of Illyricum was a city, Epidamnus, which had 
• been colonized by men from Corinth and from the island city 
of Corcyra, which was itself a colony of Corinth. About 435 
B.C. trouble arose in Epidamnus, and Corinth and Corcyra took 
opposite sides in the controversy. War between the two 
resulted, and when Corcyra forthwith appealed to Athens for 
aid, the crisis arrived. 

For several days the Athenian Ecclesia hesitated ; then, by 
the advice of Pericles, the citizens decided to make a defensive 
alliance with Corcyra and to send ships to her aid. Two 
arguments affected the mind of the Ecclesia: first, the Athe- 
nians saw in the alliance an opportunity to develop their trade 
in the west ; and second, they felt that to allow the navy of 
Corcyra to fall into the hands of Corinth would be a menace 
to their naval supremacy. 

In the summer of 432 B.C., the fleets of Corinth and Corcyra 
met in battle off the island of Sybota, near the southern end of 
Corcyra. At first the fortunes of war were with the Corin- 



i 



PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO 415 B.C. 165 

thians ; then the captains of the Athenian triremes interfered, 

and the Corinthians were driven off with heavy losses. War 

between Corinth and Athens was inevitable from that moment. 

The greater question was, should the rest of Greece also be 

embroiled ? 

To complicate the problem, Corinth now stirred up trouble 

in Potidsea and the other cities of Chalcidice, and in- 156. how 

duced them to revolt. Athens naturally exerted herself ^^^ Greece 

*^ was drawn 

to the utmost to put down the uprising, while Corinth into the 

protested loudly against the action of her rival. ^^^ 

Corinth now appealed to the Peloponnesian League, alleging 
that Athens had broken the Thirty Years' Truce; and a meet- 
ing of the league was called that summer at Sparta. Among 
the Spartan elders, there were divided counsels; but in the 
end the war party won, and preparations for the struggle 
began. During the winter, several embassies went to and fro 
between Athens and Sparta ; " but," says Thucydides, Thucydides, 
"the youth of the Peloponnesus and the youth of Athens *'*• ^ 

were numerous ; they had never seen war, and they were there- 
fore willing to take up arms." 

At the beginning of the war, the two coalitions were ar- 
ranged as follows : on the one side, Athens with her 
maritime dependencies and the allies Chios, Lesbos, Corcyra, 
and many maritime cities of the west coast; on the other 
side, Sparta and all the states of the Peloponnesus except 
Argos and Achaia, with most of the states of central Greece, 
and the Dorian states of Sicily. On sea, Athens was almost 
invincible ; on land, Sparta was as far superior to her enemy 
as she was inferior in naval strength. 

In the spring of 431 B.C., the formal war began. King 
Archidamus of Sparta marched his forces to the borders of 

Attica and summoned the Athenians to surrender their 157. First 

.,. ^ , -. • n T^ ■ 1 .1 two years of 

imperial city. By the advice of Pericles, the envoys ^^j. ^^^i_ 

were dismissed, and the residents of Attica retired into 429 B.C ) 



166 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



the city, whereupon the Spartans advanced into Attica, burn- 
ing and destroying as they went. Though the city was safe 
enough behind its strong walls, the Athenians were uneasy 
in their cramped quarters and murmured when they looked 
out upon their wasted fields. To allay the discontent and 
to give the citizens something else to think about, Pericles 
sent out a fleet to ravage the coast of the Peloponnesus. The 
ships returned in triumph in the fall, for there had been 
almost no one to oppose them. Still, when the first year 
of the war was over, neither side could claim any definite 
advantage. 

Next year, 430 b.c, both parties pursued the same tactics, 
and no change in the situation seemed imminent, till suddenly 
the Athenians were overtaken by a catastrophe which altered 
the whole future course of the war. In some way, a deadly 
plague was introduced into the 
overcrowded city and hundreds 
died of the effect. Though 
Pericles wais hardly to blame, 
the wrath of the citizens vented 
itself upon him, and he was 
compelled to retire into private 
life. 

Within the year, Pericles was 
reinstated, but ere long he died, 

158. Death ^ victim of the plague : 

of Pericles no greater calamity could 

(429 B.C.) ^^^^ befallen the city. 

For thirt}^ years, Pericles had 

led the Athenians from one 

triumph to another, and with 

but few exceptions his statesmanship was beyond reproach. 

He had lived the life of an honorable and upright man ; he 

had, as he said, caused no Athenian to put on mourning 




Pericles. 
Vatican, Rome. 



PELOPONNESIAN AVAR TO 415 B.C. 167 

for any act of his ; he had tried with all his might to 
build up a healthy, firm democracy in Athens ; he had 
fixed in the minds of his fellow-citizens the highest intel- 
lectual and artistic ideals. In short, in the whole history 
of Greece, we can point to no other one man who was so 
preeminently great as Pericles ; and Athens needed such a 
man most urgently at this time. 

While Pericles lived, party strife had been reduced to a 
minimum ; now that he was dead, the old dissensions again 
broke out. On the one side stood the extreme demo- 159. New 
crats, led by demagogues who sprang from the lower cieona^d 
classes of the people. That these ifien lacked the re- Nicias 

finement of the earlier leaders of the democracy is beyond 
dispute ; that they were as bad as the aristocratic poets and 
historians would have us believe is far from likely. Aris- 
tophanes, for instance, declared that Cleon, the most famous 
of them all, was fit only to be "cut into thongs, to serve . ,. , 
the knights for straps and shoes." This is one side of nes, Achar- 
the picture, but we must not forget the other ; though '"<^^^*» 
Cleon was coarse and comparatively uneducated, he had un- 
doubted gifts of oratory and statesmanship of no mean order. 
During his life, as we shall see, he achieved at least one bril- 
liant success. 

Opposed to these extreme democrats, stood a number of 
conservatives, led by Nicias, a man of unquestioned respect- 
ability and immense wealth. But Nicias was not the man 
to oppose such bold spirits as Cleon and his associates ; he 
was timid and diffident, and he knew none of the tricks which 
give a man the mastery over his fellows. Worst of all, AHstonha- 
he w^as slow and unresourceful, so that to " dawdle and nes, Birds, 
postpone like Nicias " came to be a proverb in Athens. 

The years from 429 to 427 b.c. are marked by two important 
movements. In the first place, the Spartans, who had invested 
the city of Platsea because it refused to renounce its allegiance 



168 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

to Athens, now pressed the siege with great vigor. The 
Platseans held out in hope of succor from Athens; but, 
160 Pla- whether Athens was too busy defending her interests in 
tsea and other places, or because she had ceased to care for the 
(4"29-4T7 safety of any one but herself, no succor came, and 
BC.) Platsea fell into the hands of the Spartans. The punish- 

ment of the citizens was terrible : every man that fell into the 
hands of the Spartans was cruelly put to death. 

While the Spartans were lying before Platsea, the Athenians 
were carrying on an active war against the city of Mytilene, 
in Lesbos, which had deserted the Athenian alliance in the 
hope that Sparta would send her aid; but the Spartans 
failed, and Mytilene was forced to surrender. Urged on by 
Cleon, the Athenians decreed the slaughter of the entire male 
population of the city, but fortunately a milder spirit pre- 
vailed before the decree was carried out; even then, one 
thousand oligarchs were sacrificed to the bloodthirstiness of 
Cleon, and another horror was added to the long list in this 
most bloody war. 

While the Athenian fleet was busy at Mytilene," the west was 

almost lost, for a serious sedition arose in Corcyra; but in 

161. Spar- 426 B.C., the brilliant work of Demosthenes, the greatest 

tan reverses (jg^eral in Athens since Cimon, strengthened and restored 

at Pylos * 

and Cythera the western allies. Next year, Demosthenes conceived 

^425 424 ^j^^ brilliant scheme of seizing and fortifying the head- 
land of Pylos on the coast of Messenia. This, he believed, 
would be an invaluable post as a basis of operations in the 
Peloponnesus and as a naval station for ships operating in 
the Ionian Sea. At first the scheme was opposed by the com- 
manders of the fleet for the year ; but in the end Demosthenes 
was given his way, and a small force was intrenched on the 
shore. At once the Spartans hurried to dislodge the band, 
but, by a terrible blunder, they allowed a part of their force 
to be entrapped on the island of Sphacteria, at the mouth of 



PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO 415 B.C. 



169 




Pylos. 



the harbor of Pylos, and to save their countrymen, they sued 

for peace. Cleon would not hear of such a peace, and demanded 

that reenforcements should be sent to 

Demosthenes with all haste. Nicias was 

general for the year, but Nicias had no 

relish for the whole affair, consequently he 

gladly relinquished his command to Cleon, 

and Cleon thereupon led the Athenians to 

reenforce Demosthenes. Surrounded by an 

overwhelming force, the Spartans on the 

island were soon compelled to surrender, and 

Cleon brought the captives home in glory. 

In 424 B.C. the Athenians captured the island of Cythera, off 
the southern coast of Laconia, and several places on the Isthmus 
of Corinth, and thus Sparta was cut off from all her allies be- 
yond the Peloponnesus. Apparently, the end was not far off. 

At the moment of their highest success, however, disaster 
was preparing for the Athenians. A young Spartan general, 
Brasidas, believed that he saw a way to cripple Athens 162. Brasi- 
and at the same time to remedy the greatest weak- ci^^i^e (42V 
ness of Sparta, — the lack of a fleet. He reasoned that 422 B.C.) 
if the cities of Chalcidice and Thrace could be induced to 
revolt, Athens would lose one of her chief sources of supply, 
and at the same time Sparta would gain a center for the build- 
ing and equipment of ships. The conservative ephors had but 
little sympathy with this scheme ; still they were willing to 
grant to Brasidas a force of Helots and a number of auxiliaries ; 
and with these Brasidas broke through the Athenian lines 
and marched to Chalcidice. In two years, he had made him- 
self master of the coast ; Acanthus, Scione, Mende, Amphipolis, 
and several other towns had fallen into his hands. Though 
a general truce was declared in 423 b.c, Brasidas refused to 
recognize it, and consequently, in 422 e.g., Cleon was sent up 
into Chalcidice to dislodge him. The two armies met in battle 



170 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



163. Peace 
of Nicias 
(421 B.C.) 

Aristopha- 
nes, Peace, 
220. 



near Amphipolis. The Athenians were completely defeated 

and Cleon was killed ; but the victorious Spartans also lost their 

general, so that much of the advantage of the victory was lost. 

The war had now been going on for ten years. Several 

tinies peace had been proposed, but, as Aristophanes 

"If the Spartans had the advantage 
They bit their lips and muttered among tliemselves : 
' Ah ! now my little Athenian, you shall pay for it.' 
And if the little Athenian got the better, 
Ever so little (when the Spartans came 
To treat for peace), they only screamed and made an uproar." 

In 421 B.C., however, both parties were ready for negotiations, 
and through the instrumentality of Nicias a treaty was signed 
by both parties, guaranteeing a peace for fifty years on the basis 
of things as they were before the war. 

To carry out these terms proved impossible. The Spartan 

successor of Brasidas in Chalcidice refused to honor its pro- 

164 F '1 visions, and the allies of Sparta were angry because they 

of the had not been consulted in arranging the terms. To pre- 

peace ^^^^^ ^j^^ threatened outbreak of war, Sparta and Athens, 

strangely enough, entered into a defensive alliance, but even 

this did not prevent hostilities. In the Peloponnesus, several 

states joined Argos, the old enemy of Sparta, in an attempt 

to overthrow the Lacedaemonian power. Athens was solicited 

for aid, but held aloof, till she heard that Sparta had allied 

herself with the oligarchs of Boeotia, and then the war party in 

Athens came into ascendency once more and resolved to aid the 

Argive League. 

The leader of the war party after the death of Cleon was Alci- 

biades, a young man of noble family and wonderful versatility, 

of whom we shall hear much more. Already he was known in 

Athens for his brilliant parts, for his beauty and grace, and also 

Plutarch, for his lawlessness. "Among his many strong passions," 

Alcibiades ^^y.^ Plutarch, "the one most prevailing of all was his 



PELOPONNESiAN WAR TO 415 B.C. l7l 

ambition and his desire for superiority." It was by him that 
the Athenians were led to throw in their fortunes with the 
Argive League. In 418 b.c, the forces of the league met 
those of Sparta near Mantinea: the result was not long in 
doubt; the Spartans were still masters in military organiza- 
tion, and the Argives and their allies were totally defeated. 
Thus ended the attempt to overthrow the Spartan supremacy 
in the Peloponnesus. Peace was once again restored, and to 
all outward appearances the war between Athens and Sparta was 
over. As a matter of fact, the embers were only smoldering. 



The Peloponnesian war was the result of the implacable 
hatred between the Dorian and Ionian Greeks. On the one 
side, stood Athens, the great representative of democ- 155. sum- 
racy ; on the other, Sparta, the ■ leader among the oli- ^^^ 

garchic states. The occasion of the war was the commercial 
rivalry of Corinth and Atliens. First, Athens interfered in a 
quarrel between Corinth and Corcyra ; then, by a rapid series 
of events, all the rest of Greece was drawn into the war. 
While Pericles lived, the- Athenians followed a conservative, 
defensive policy in their campaigns, but when he died, a more 
aggressive set of men took the helm. For the time, success 
seemed to follow their plans ; Mytilene was reduced, Pylos and 
Cythera were taken, and Athens seemed about to be the victor 
in the war. But in 424 B.C., Brasidas marched into Chalcidice 
and wrested the colonies there from the hands of Athens. 
In 422 B.C., both Cleon and Brasidas were killed, and then the 
peace of Nicias was agreed upon. The allies of Sparta were 
dissatisfied with the peace and joined Argos in trying to break 
the hegemony of Sparta in the Peloponnesus. For a moment, 
Sparta was threatened; but at- the battle of Mantinea she once 
again showed her superiority in military organization. The 
league was defeated, and Sparta remained the mistress of the 
Peloponnesus. 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. — 11 



172 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



Thus at the end of thirteen years but little change had taken 
place in the position of the two enemies. Sparta was still 
mistress on land and Athens was still mistress at sea. 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



TOPICS 

(1) Enumerate the causes of the Peloponnesian war. Was 
Sparta or Athens more to blame for its outbreak ? (2) What was 
the political relation between a Greek colony and the mother city ? 
(3) Why did not Archidamus besiege Athens and starve the 
inhabitants into submission ? (4) Trace the career of Pericles. 
What mistakes did he make, and what were the weak points in his 
character ? (5) What weakness in democracy does Cleon illus- 
trate ? (6) Is it more dangerous for a democracy to have an 
ignorant population than it is for a monarchy ? (7) Wherein was 
Brasidas a great general ? How did his aims compare with those 
of Demosthenes? (8) When the peace of Nicias was made, what 
prevented it from being permanent ? Were Spartan and Athenian 
allies alone responsible for the failure of the peace ? (9) What did 
Sparta have to acquire before she could hope to come out victori- 
ous over Athens ? 

(10) A sea fight in ancient times. (11) The plague in Athens. 
(12) The siege of Platsea. (13) The youth of Alcibiades. 
(14) The taking of a city in Greek times. (15) What Aris- 
tophanes thought of war. 



Geography 

Modern 

authorities 



Illustrative 
work 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 162. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. x.; Holm, History of Greece, II. 
chs. xxi.-xxv.; Allcroft, The Peloponnesian War, chs. i.-vi. ; Cox, 
Athenian Emjnre, chs. iii. iv.; Greek Statesmen, II., Archidamus -, 
Fowler, City-State, ch. vi.; Whibley, Political Parties in Athens 
during the Peloponnesian War ; Curtius, History of Greece, III. 
bk. iv. chs. i.-iii. ; Grote, History of Greece, VI. ch. xlvii.; 
Oman, History of Greece, chs. xxvi.-xxxi. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 16 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, ch. 28 ; 
Thucydides, bks. ii.-vi. ; Plutarch, Lives, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibia- 
des ; Diodorus, bk. xii. ; Aristophanes, Comedies, particularly 
Acharnians, Birds, Peace. 

A, J. Church, Callias. 



I 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE END OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 

As lie was dying, Pericles is said to have warned his fellow- 
citizens not to engage in any new conquests while the struggle 
with Sparta was going on. That the Athenians speedily ^gg ^t^e- 

forgot this warning was shown in 416 b.c, when Melos, nian dreams 

of £L "WGstiGrn. 
the last independent island in the ^gean, was forced to empire 

join the Delian Confederacy. 

Next year, Athens embarked in a much more serious venture. 
Since the days when Gelon was tyrant in southern Sicily, 
many changes had taken place in the island. Democracy had 
succeeded tyranny, and a number of independent states, which 
were constantly at war with one another, had grown up. In 
these wars, it was the rule to call in aid from the larger Greek 
states. Ever since 425 B.C., Athens had been toying with the 
idea of interfering in the affairs of the island ; finally, in 415 b.c, 
Segesta, one of the Ionian cities of the island, appealed to 
Athens for aid against Selinus and Syracuse. Eor such aid, 
they declared, they were ready to pay handsomely. Further- 
more, they insinuated, the island of Sicily offered a tempting 
chance for the expansion of the Athenian empire : for if 
Athens could subdue Syracuse, the rest of the island was sure 
to fall into her hands ; nay, more, would not the conquest of 
Sicily be the entering wedge in the conquest of the entire 
western Mediterranean ? 

Such were the dreams of empire which the envoys of Se- 
gesta aroused in the minds of the Athenians ! The older 
and more conservative men like Nicias shook their heads : 

173 



1T4 



THE DP:CLINE of HELLAS 



Athens had much better devote her time, they declared, to 
strengthening her resources for the war with Sparta, which 




,<<^^ 




Remains of a Gkeek Theater at Tauromenium, Sicily. 
Mt. Etua on the right. 

was certain to come again, than to engage in such hazardous 
foreign expeditions ; but such advice, while it appealed to those 
who had property to lose, had little effect upon the young and 
adventurous spirits who acknowledged Alcibiades as their 
leader. Nicias could only stand and croak; his voice was 
drowned by the siren song of Alcibiades. 

A veritable delirium swept over the people. Every nerve 

was strained to make the force which was to be sent to Sicily 

167. The the largest which had ever set out from Piraeus. When 

of^he^ ^°^ spring came, a fleet of several hundred triremes, trans- 

Hermse ports, and merchant vessels lay in the harbor ready to 

sail. 

So far everything had gone w^ell. Even the conservatives 
had been partly placated by4;he election of Nicias and Lama- 



I 



THE END OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 175 

chus to joint command with Alcibiacles. Then suddenly, 
only a few days before the date set for the sailing, the town 
was horrified by the mutilation of the Hernise, the rude images 
of the god Hermes which lined the streets of Athens. Such an 
affront to the god of commerce could presage naught but ill for 
the expedition. The impious offenders could not be found, but, 
curiously enough, suspicion gradually settled down upon Alci- 
biades. He demanded an immediate trial, but his enemies 
refused, for they knew that with the army behind him he 
would surely be acquitted. 

Under such a cloud, the expedition sailed. Slowly the ships 
proceeded to Sicily, only to find that the hopes of conquest 
which the Segestans had held out were nothing but 168. Opera- 
dreams. Instead of making the best of the situation, the sicilv°(^15- 
three generals wrangled and delayed when they should 413 B.C.) 
have been carrying on a vigorous attack. In the end, a 
plan of campaign drawn up by Alcibiades was adopted; but 
unfortunately, he had no opportunity to demonstrate its value, 
for his enemies at home had been active, and a state galley . 
was sent to Sicily with orders for his recall, to stand trial for 
the mutilation of the Hermae. Instead of obeying, Alcibiades 
escaped to Sparta. The importance of this sudden change 
can scarcely be exaggerated ; here was the man who had been 
the life of the expedition forced by the activity of his enemies 
into the camp of the deadliest foe of Athens. 

In Sicily, Nicias was now chief in command. His conduct 
in this crisis is well described by the modern poet Browning, 
who speaks of this as the time — 

« When poor reluctant Mkias, pushed by fate, BalausUoif'l 

Went faltering against Syracuse." Adventure, 8 

For more than two years, he hesitated and frittered away his 
time. Meanwhile, Alcibiades was using his knowledge of 
Athenian affairs to the advantage of Sparta. He advised the 



176 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



Spartans to send a competent commander to Sicily, and also 
to undertake another expedition into Attica. Both plans were 
adopted ; Gylippus, a Spartan admiral, was sent to Syracuse, 
and King Agis was dispatched into Attica to seize and fortify 
Decelea. 

The position of Nicias was now one of extreme danger, and 
he begged urgently for reenforcements. In the spring of 

169. Crush- ^1^ B.C., Demosthenes was 

ing defeat gg^t ^o his aid, but it was 

oftheAthe- ^ ^ ^ , • i -, 

nians already too late ; things had 

gone from bad to worse, and before 
the summer was over, the entire 
armament of Athens had been 
destroyed. 

Thus the dream of a western em- 
pire had ended in a dreadful 
awakening. Athens had lost her 
entire fleet, forty thousand men had 
been sacrificed, and Nicias, Lama- 







S^Ty"""""-"').^ ^lus Harbor 




^„^^^-^^^^^ Y^MittU Harbor 






yytxiA^ 




/ / ,, "-^^^^^^ 





SyRACUSE. 



Thucydides, 
vii. 87 



chus, and Demosthenes had been killed. "Of all the 
Hellenic actions which took place in this war, . . ." 
says Thucydides, " this was the greatest — the most glorious 
to the victors, the most ruinous to the vanquished ; for they 
were utterly and at all points defeated ; and their sufferings 
were prodigious. Fleet and army perished " from the face of 
the earth ; nothing was saved, and of the many who went 
forth, few returned home." 

In Athens, there was no longer any question of the extension 
of the empire. Only by most strenuous efforts could the city 
170. The save itself from utter ruin. The entire form of govern- 
ment was reorganized, every nerve was strained to retain 
the loyalty of the dependencies, and prodigious activity 
was expended in recreating the fleet. In the Pelopon- 
nesus, on the other hand, joy and triumph overruled every 



war re- 
sumed in 
the east 
(412 B.C.) 



THE END OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 177 

other thought. From all sides came offers of alliance ; even 
the Persians again began to make advances to the Greeks, 
offering to support the Spartans in the coming war. 

Among all the offers of aid, Sparta finally chose an active 
alliance with the island of Chios and with Tissaphernes, satrap 
of southern Asia Minor. Alcibiades was sent to Chios, and 
the war began. Fortunately for Athens, Samos remained 
loyal, and with this island as a base, she was able to hold 
out against her enemies. 

The fight was exhausting, and the fate of Athens would not 
long have been in doubt had not Alcibiades changed front just 
at this time. The influence of Alcibiades with the ^„^ ., ., . 
Spartans had waned, and to escape ruin he was forced ades de- 
to flee from Chios to the court of Tissaphernes. Here Spartans 
he advised a new policy : " Let the dominion only remain ThucycUdes, 
divided," he said, " and then, whichever of the two ""^' ^^ 

rivals was troublesome, the Persian king might always use the 
other against him." Such advice seemed good to Tissaphernes, 
and he withdrew his support from Sparta. 

Alcibiades had in view another object than aiding the 
Persian king. He was anxious to return to Athens, and be- 
lieved that now the time was ripe. Consequently, he 172. Politi- 

set in motion an elaborate chain of events intended ulti- ^^ ^+^^° ^' 

tion in 

mately to result in his recall. First, he intrigued with Athens 

those Athenian generals stationed at Samos who favored an 
oligarchy, and promised to procure aid for Athens from Tissa- 
phernes if the Athenian government were changed to an oli- 
garchy. Encouraged by this information, agents were sent to 
Athens; conspiracies were organized; and finall}^, the democ- 
racy was overthrown and an oligarchy, known as the Four 
Hundred, was set up. 

Alcibiades was now ready for his second move. The rule of 
the Four Hundred had no solid foundation ; the soldiers espe- 
cially were opposed to it; consequently, Alcibiades brought 



178 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

it about that the troops declared the change unconstitutional 
and announced themselves as the only true representatives of 
the state. This was his chance ; he now declared openly that 
the Athenian commanders had mistaken his purpose, that his 
sympathies had all along been with the democracy, and there- 
fore he now offered himself to the army as a leader. His 
offer was eagerly accepted, and he was chosen general by 
acclamation (411 b.c). 

Aicibiades, however, was not yet ready to return to the city. 

173. Alcibi- Instead, he sailed away to the Hellespont, and spent the 
adesmcom- ^^^^^ ^^^^ years there waging fierce war on Sparta and 
Athenians her allies, almost justifying by his success the trickery 

which had gained him the position of commander. 

In 408 B.C., he returned to Athens ; and the people, to show 
their confidence in him, elected him general for the year. 
Armed with this power, he sailed away to the east once more. 
Meanwhile things had changed for the better with Sparta also, 
for the king of Persia had finally resolved to throw in his for- 
tunes with Sparta, and had sent his son Cyrus to Asia Minor 
to carry out his will ; and Sparta had finally found a competent 
naval commander in Lysander, who was now put in command 
of the allied fleet. Instead of carefully watching such power- 
ful enemies, Aicibiades sailed away from Samos, leaving ex- 
plicit orders against engaging the enemy while he was away. 
Nevertheless, his lieutenant, Antiochus, risked a battle at 
Notium and was badly defeated. Though Aicibiades was only 
indirectly responsible for the defeat, the wrath of the Athe- 
nians was poured out on his head. His command was discon- 
tinued, and he Avas forced to retire in disgrace to his castle 
on the Hellespont, never to return to Athens. 

So far, the Athenians were still holding their own with fair 

174. Battle chances of success, and their naval supremacy seemed 

ofArginu- iq \yQ assured when, in 406 b.c, the fleet met the 

sse (406 

B.C.) Spartans near Arginusse, and the Athenians redeemed 



THE END OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 179 

their defeat of the year before by almost annihilating their 
enemy. 

In this campaign, the Athenians had divided the command 
of their fleet among ten admirals, who might have expected 
all honor from their fellow-citizens ; but they found, when they 
returned to Athens, that a fearful fate awaited them. After 
the battle, two of the captains, Theramenes and Thrasybulus, 
had been ordered to rescue those sailors whose ships had been 
damaged in the action. A sudden storm made this impossible, 
and no one could be blamed for the loss of life ; but Thera- 
menes, to protect himself from possible punishment, turned 
fiercely on his superiors and did not rest till the Ecclesia had 
condemned all ten to death. That such things should be possi- 
ble, throws volumes of light on the condition of Athens. The 
age was degenerate : instead of the calm, deliberate assembly 
of the days of Pericles, the Ecclesia was now a mere mob, led 
this way and that by the lowest type of demagogues and syco- 
phants, who set up and tore down commanders at their will. 

The end was now fast approaching. In 405 e.g., the Spar- 
tans again sent Lysander to the east at the request of the allies. 
Under his leadership, the ships sailed away to the Hel- 175. xhe 
lespont, where the Athenians were lying at the mouth ^^^^^^^ ^* 
of the ^Egospotami. Day after day, the Athenians offered potami 

battle, but Lysander refused to engage. He waited his ^^"^ ^•^•-^ 
chance, and one day while the Athenian sailors were absent from 
their ships, he sailed in suddenly and captured the whole fleet. 
The Athenians returned in haste, but it was too late ; instead 
of saving the triremes, they themselves fell into the hands of 
Lysander and were all put to death. Since the days of the 
Sicilian disaster, Athens had suffered no loss comparable to 
this : at one blow, Lysander deprived her of almost two hun- 
dred triremes and over three thousand men. 

The sad news traveled fast ; when it reached Athens, a panic 
took possession of the city. For days the people awaited the 



180 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

coming of Lysander, who was reducing the islands of the 

^gean to submission. Early in 404 e.g., he appeared before 

,«« -r, J * the Piraeus and blockaded the harbor. In sheer despera- 
176. End of ^ 

the war tion, the people held out for a month or more, but in 
(404 B.C.) ^j^g g^^^ they were forced to sue for peace. 

The day of triumph had come to the Peloponnesian League. 
Thebes and Corinth insisted upon the total destruction of the 
city, but Sparta was more generous ; she was willing to grant 
peace, provided Athens would submit to the razing of her walls 
and the destruction of all the fleet except twelve ships. 
Furthermore, Athens must acknowledge the hegemony of 
Sparta, and allow all the banished oligarchs to return to the 
- city. The terms were hard, but Athens had no alternative, 
and submitted. In April, Lysander entered the Pirseus, the 
walls of Athens were destroyed, and the triumph of the Pelo- 
ponnesians was complete. 



In 415 B.C., Alcibiades induced the Athenians to engage in 
the Sicilian expedition. Though we may doubt, with Nicias, 
177 Sum- ^^^ wisdom of sending out that expedition, there certainly 
mary seems to have been no adequate reason for endangering 

its success, as the Athenians did, by the recall of Alcibiades. 
From the moment when Alcibiades deserted the fleet and fled 
to Sparta, everything went wrong. At the end of two years, 
Athens had lost in the venture precious ships, men, and treasure, 
and from the effects of that expedition the city never recovered. 
For nearly ten years she made a gallant fight, sometimes with 
greater, sometimes with smaller success ; but the rise of a 
Spartan naval power under the admiral Lysander sounded the 
death knell of the imperial city, and in 404 b.c. she bowed her 
head to the Spartan conqueror. The war was fierce and long, 
it lasted almost a generation, and its effects were stupendous ; 
for within that generation Athens fell from the position of 
leader in a great empire to a place where her very existence 



THE END OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 



181 



depended upon the mercy of Sparta. One other thing the war 
decided : namely, that oligarchy and not democracy should be 
the prevailing form of government in Greece. 





Coins of Syracuse. 



TOPICS 

(1) Why was the SiciUan expedition inopportune ? (2) What 
mistake did the Athenians make when they heard the accounts 
of the Segestan ambassadors ? (3) Do you think the Athenians 
were patriotic in recalling Alcibiades ? (4) Considering the 
Greek character, does the conduct of Alcibiades surprise you ? 
Is there any man in the early history of this country with whom 
you could compare him ? (5) Was democracy responsible for the 
Sicilian expedition ? (6) Why were all the Greek states so ready 
to desert Athens ? Why was Persia glad of her defeat ? (7) On 
what theory was Alcibiades held responsible for the defeat at 
Notium ? (8) With what other mistakes of the Athenians would 
you compare the condemnation of the victors at Arginusae ? What 
was responsible for such a verdict ? (9) In what way was the 
victory of Arginusae responsible for the defeat at ^gospotami ? 
(10) Would the Athenians have been compelled to surrender if 
the Piraeus had been strong enough to withstand the attacks of 
Lysander ? Give your reasons. (11 ) What do you think was the 
real weakness of Athens — her empire or her democracy ? 

(12) Who chose the generals at Athens? In what way did 
their election differ from that of other officials ? (13) Why was 
the destruction of the Hermae thought to be a great crime ? 
(14) The education of Alcibiades. (15) Thucydides's account of 
the defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse. (16) Map showing the 
scenes of the principal naval battles in which Athens had a part. 
(17) Sicilian coins. (18) The Athenian hoplite. 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



182 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



REFERENCES 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



See maps, pp. 58, 59, 126, 162. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. xi. ; Holm, History of Greece, II. 
chs. xxvii. xxviii. ; Allcroft, The Peloponnesian War, chs. vii.-xi. ; 
Cox, Athenian Empire, chs. v.-vii. ; Allcroft and Masom, History 
of Sicily, ch. vi. ; Fowler, City-State, ch. ix. ; Curtius, History of 
Greece, III. bk. iv. chs. iv. v. ; Grote, History of Greece, VII. chs. 
Iviii.-lxiv. ; Oman, History of Greece, chs. xxxii.-xxxiv. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, §§ 17, 18 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, 
chs. 29-34 ; Thucydides, bks. vii. viii. ; Xenophon, Hellenica, bks. 
i. ii. ; Plutarch, Lives, Alcibiades, Lysander, Nicias ; Diodorus, 
bk. xiii. ; Aristophanes, Comedies, particularly Birds, Clouds, 
Frogs ; Euripides, Tragedies, particularly Medea, Suppliants, 
Troades. 

R. Browning, Balaustion'' s Adventure ; A. J. Church, Stories 
from the Greek Tragedians. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE TRIUMPH AND THE DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 

From the beginning to the end of the Peloponnesian war, 

in every campaign and in all negotiations, Sparta had posed 

as the liberator of Greece. Now that war was over, 178. Estab- 

. , , , 1 nsnmeiit 01 

"in place of imperial Athens, was substituted, not tne oligarchies 

promised autonomy, but yet more imperial Sparta." No ^^^l^^: 
hope of independence was to be thought of under the 
rule of such a man as Lysander. In most of the cities, he 
gave the government into the hands of citizens unalterably in 
favor of oligarchy; usually, the authority was vested in a 
body of ten men, called a Decarchy. To support the govern- 
ment, a Spartan garrison, under command of a Harmost, was 
regularly stationed in the subject city. Under this twofold 
slavery, as Xenophon calls it, the people suffered all manner 
of indignities. In the days of the Athenian empire, the cities 
had prospered ; now, between the oligarchs who had old scores 
to settle, and the harmosts who held everything non-Spartan 
in contempt, all Greece cried out for a return to the days when 
Athens was supreme. 

Athens herself fared no better than the other cities. Here, 
instead of a decarchy, a tyranny of thirty men, all Athenians, 
was created. This body, chosen ostensibly to recodify 179. The 
the law, maintained itself in power for almost two jJ^^^J^^'g 
years. "The laws," says Xenophon, "were always Xenophon, 
on the point of being published, yet they were never Hellenim,^ 
forthcoming." 

At first, the " Thirty," under the leadership of Critias and 

183 



184 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 



Theramenes, acted in perfect harmony. They got rid of their 
opponents by banishment, by confiscations, and even by execu- 
tions. Then Theramenes, perceiving that disaster was sure 
to follow this wholesale persecution, endeavored to check 
his more reckless colleagues. Critias, instead of taking the 
warning, boldly accused his coadjutor, and had him put to 
death. 

Meanwhile, the exiles from Athens were gathering in large 
numbers in Thebes. Finally, seventy of them, under the 






^l ^ \ '^^ 














:k\ 



The Pir^us, the Port of Athens. (Restoration.) 



leadership of Thrasybulus, made a raid into Attica and es- 
tablished themselves at Phyle. Many recruits gathered about 
them, till, in the spring of 403 B.C., Thrasybulus felt strong 
enough to occupy Piraeus. The tyrants sallied forth to dis- 
lodge him ; but they were defeated in battle, and Critias was 
killed. In xithens, the power of the oligarchs w^s fast fading 
awa}^ ; to save the party, the Thirty were deposed, and in their 
place a board of ten was elected. Still, the flood of democracy 
was not to be stayed, and the oligarchs carried an appeal to 
Sparta. Unfortunately for them, the power of Lysander, their 
patron, was on the wane, and consequently the Spartans con- 



TRIUMPH AND DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 185 

tented themselves with making a mere show of power, so that, 
before the year was out, the democrats under Thrasybuliis 
were m control of the city. 

While these things were going on in Greece, a crisis was 
developing in the east. In 404 b.c, Darius, the Persian king, 
had died; and his eldest son, Artaxerxes, had succeeded -_- 
him. Cyrus, a younger son, also claimed the throne, and of the "Ten 
gathering an army in Asia Minor, set out for Persia to ousan 
depose his brother. Among his troops were large numbers of 
Greeks, in whom Cyrus placed great confidence because of their 
superior fighting ability. At Cunaxa, near ancient Babylon, 
the brothers met in battle. Though the Greeks behaved gal- 
lantly and showed their superiority over the Persians, Cyrus 
was overwhelmed by the superior numbers of Artaxerxes ; he 
himself was killed, and the Greeks escaped only with great diffi- 
culty. Still, though the odds against them were prodigious, by 
pursuing a long and difficult route they finally made their way 
back to Asia Minor. In itself, the affair had but little to do 
with the progress of Greek history ; indirectly, its conse- 
quences were momentous, for the Greeks who marched with 
Cyrus learned to know how weak the Persian empire had 
grown ; and from this time on the project of the conquest of 
the east was never absent from the minds of the Greeks, till 
three quarters of a century later it was actually accomplished 
by Alexander. 

Tissaphernes, the successor of Cyrus in Asia Minor, deter- 
mined to punish the Ionian cities for their participation in the 
expedition of Cyrus. The cities, thus menaced, called ^g^ ^^^ 
upon Sparta for aid, and an army was at once dispatched ; with Persia 
but the war dragged on for several years without any 
decisive results, for the Spartans had no competent com- 
mander in the field. 

Meanwhile an important change had taken place in Sparta, 
for Agesilaus had been elected king. Up to his election. 



186 THE DECLINE OF HEtLAS 

Agesilaus had shown no aptitude beyond the ordinary virtues 
of a well-trained Spartan. At that time he was forty years 
182 The ^^^' ^ small man, lame in one leg, and insignificant in 
coining of appearance : yet his cheerfulness and constant readiness 
(400-395 to ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ share of work gave him popularity among 
B-C-) this athletic race. 

Lysander advocated his election, but in all probability he 
did so because he expected through him to dominate Spartan 
politics. If this was his hope, he was soon disappointed ; 
for Agesilaus, after thoroughly establishing himself at home, 
and gaining the good will of all classes, in 396 b.c. proceeded 
to Asia Minor to carry on the war against the Persians. In 
two years he succeeded in driving the Persians out of all their 
strongholds in Ionia, and had even begun to think of carrying 
the war into the heart of Persia itself, when news came that 
he was wanted at home. 

Throughout the Peloponnesian war, Sparta had been sup- 
ported by the stanchest of allies, but when the war was over, 
Xenophon, as Xenophon says, " The Lacedaemonians had gained what 
1^0/ they wanted, but not one fractional part of empire, honor, 

among the or wealth did their faithful followers receive." The The- 

^^^^ ,--_ bans and Corinthians especiallv murmured against such 
states (395- r ^ o 

387 B.C.) treatment, and ten years had not passed till they became 
so dissatisfied with existing conditions that they entered into 
alliance with their former enemy, Athens, and with the help 
of Persian gold began to make war upon the tyrant city. 

In that war, everything went wrong for Sparta. Lysander 
was killed, and the king, Pausanias, Avas found so incompetent 
that he was tried for neglect of duty and deposed from the 
throne. Nothing remained but to call Agesilaus home. Even 
he could not stem the tide which had set in against the Lace- 
daemonians. Scarcely had he set foot in Greece when news 
of a terrible disaster was brought to him. Off Cnidus, in Caria, 
Conon, the Athenian admiral, had met and completely defeated 



TRIUMPH AND DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 187 

the Spartan fleet. So complete was the rout, that by this one 
battle Athens again reestablished her supremacy on the sea. 
From Cnidus, Con on proceeded from island to island, deposing 
the decarchies and restoring the democrats to power. In 393 
B.C., he finally entered the Piraeus, and before the Spartans 
could interfere, the walls of Athens were rebuilt. 

The war dragged on for six years longer ; then, after long 
negotiations, Sparta succeeded in inducing the Persian king to 
interfere in favor of peace. This peace is known as the 184. Peace 
peace of Antalcidas, from the Si)artan who negotiated ° ^^ *^3gl" 
it. Its terms are as follows: "The king, Artaxerxes, B.C.) 

deems it just that the cities of Asia, with the islands of ^^'/J^^^^-^'^' 
Clazomena3 and Cyprus, should belong to him ; the rest v. i 

of the Hellenic cities, both small and great, he thinks it just 
to leave independent, with the exception of Lonmos, Imbros, 
and Samos, — these shall belong to Athens as of yore." 

Thus was peace declared after eight years of war. Still, the 
sacrifice which Greece made was great. By allowing the king 
of Persia to dictate the terms, the cities made him the arbiter 
of Greek affairs; and that was just what the old heroes from 
Miltiades to Cimon had labored to prevent. 

Though the allies — Thebes, Corinth, and Athens — seemed to 

have been favored by the peace of Antalcidas, the sequel proved 

that its provisions might be interpreted in favor of Sparta. 135 spar- 

By the terms of peace, the allies must disband their asso- *^^ aggres- 
sions from 
ciation and cease to restrain any of their neighbors ; on the 335 to 379 

other hand, Sparta was now relieved from war, and could ^•^• 

again pursue her schemes of aggrandizement. The first move 

was made against Mantinea, which was ruthlessly destroyed, 

and the citizens scattered through the neighboring villages. 

Next, the Chalcidian Confederacy, which had grown up in 

the north, was attacked and completely disrupted. 

More important than either of these two acts of oppression 

was the treachery practiced on Thebes. In 383 B.C., while 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 12 



188 



THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 




Coin of Thebils. 



the two cities were at peace, a Spartan commander on his 
way to Chalcidice seized and held Cadmea, the acropolis of 

Thebes. A cry of protest went 
up from all over Greece, but, 
1 in her new-born insolence, 
Sparta gave no relief. The 
commander was punished, it is 
true ; but the citadel was re- 
tained and the government of 
Thebes was so shaped that Spartan influence became supreme. 
Although Sparta was apparently once more mistress of 
Greece, and oligarchy was still triumphant, a crash was im- 
186. Revo- pending. Among the Theban exiles living in Athens 
hitionin ^^^^g Pelopidas, who set to work almost at once to organ- 
(379 B.C.) ize a conspiracy for the purpose of deposing the oli- 
garchs and regaining his city. Within Thebes, meanwhile, the 
patriots were secretly organized for the coming revolution by 
the lifelong friend of Pelopidas, Epaminondas, who had been 
allowed to remain in Thebes, because the oligarchs had not 
thought it worth while to disturb such a dreamer as he. Had 
they only known it, he was even more dangerous than Pelopi- 
das, for he was instilling into the hearts of the youth that love 
of liberty and that power of endurance which were ultimately 
to break forever the supremacy of the Spartan conquerors. 
In 379 B.C., when all was ready, Pelopidas and his followers 
left Athens in twos and threes, and secretly gained admission 
to Thebes. When all had arrived, the revolution was begun, 
the oligarchs were put out of the way to the last man, and 
then the citizens were summoned and a new republic declared. 
Next, the Spartan garrison was driven out of Cadmea, and 
Pelopidas and his followers were masters of Thebes. The 
result of this revolution was that all Greece was again in- 
volved in war : on the one side, the democracies, led by 
Thebes and Athens ; on the other, the oligarchies, led by Sparta. 



TRIUMPH AND DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 189 

For eight years (379-371 b.c.) the struggle went on, Thebes 
constantly improving her position among the states; finally, 
in 371 B.C., the Athenians, who had grown jealous of ^g^ peace 
their ally, proposed that a peace conference should be conference 
held in Sparta. The proposal was accepted, and tlie nego- ^ ^^^ ^ 
tiations went smoothly enough, and universal peace seemed about 
to prevail. But when the time for signing the treaty arrived, 
and Agesilaus offered to sign for the Peloponnesian allies of 
Sparta, Epaminondas demanded that he should be allowed to 
do the same for the Boeotian allies of Thebes. Agesilaus 
indignantly rejected this demand; and as neither side was 
willing to make any concessions, the war began where it had 
been suspended when the convention was called. 

Just at this time it happened that the other Spartan king, 
Cieombrotus, was encamped in Phocis, and he was at once 
directed by messenger to renew the war. The Thebans ^gg g^^^^jg 
were ready, and the two armies met at Leuctra in Bceotia. of Leuctra 
Epaminondas was in command of the Thebans ; instead 
of forming his battle line in the traditional way, in extended 
order, ten or twelve deep, he massed his best troops on the 
left of his line, and with this wedge he opened the battle. 
The effect was what he expected : the right wing of the Spar- 
tans, where Cieombrotus himself was stationed, was completely 
routed, and the king was killed. The rest of the Spartan 
army soon gave way, and the Thebans left the field as victors. 

Thus were the hitherto invincible Spartans beaten for the 
first time in open battle : the old Spartan military glory was 
gone, and a new military power had come into the world. 
The wedge which Epaminondas used in battle was the begin- 
ning of a new battle formation; a quarter of a century later 
it was still further developed, and in the hands of the kings 
of Macedon this Phalanx became absolutely invincible. 

The news of the battle of Leuctra came as a thunderbolt 
to G-reece. In Sparta, especially, its effect was overpowering ; 



190 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

yet the people took the matter stoically, there was no mourn- 
ing or confusion; they simply prepared for the invasion which 
189 D *^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ follow. Almost at once, the whole 

dation of of the Peloponnesus fell away from the Spartan alliance ; 
the Mantineans, for instance, who had been driven 
out of their city ten years before, prepared to rebuild 
their »walls, relying on the assistance of Thebes if Sparta 
should interfere. The rest of Arcadia followed the lead 
of Mantinea, and within the year a new Arcadian league was 
founded, with its capital at the new city. Megalopolis. 

As the Spartans expected, Epaminondas entered the Pelo- 
ponnesus with his army fresh from the victory at Leuctra. 
Plutarch, " It was now six hundred years since the Dorians had 
Agesilaus possessed Laconia ; in all that time, the face of an enemy 
had not been seen within their territories." Yet so low had 
the magic of the Spartan name fallen, that Epaminondas 
marched boldly into Laconia, and only by most heroic efforts 
was Agesilaus able to save the city itself from destruction. 
Foiled in his attempt to capture Sparta, Epaminondas turned 
to the west and invaded Messenia. Within a few months, he 
freed the Messenian Helots, who had been under the Spartan 
yoke for almost three hundred years, and set up for them a 
new and independent state. Scarcely a year had passed since 
Agesilaus had proudly rubbed the name of Thebes from the 
treaty of peace ; now Sparta had sunk from her position as 
arbiter of the fate of Greece to the rank of a secondary power. 
A few years before every Greek city had bowed to her will; 
now she was scarcely mistress of the land ten miles from the 
outskirts of the city. 

Eor nine years, under the leadership of Epaminondas and 

Pelopidas, Thebes kept her position as the leading 
190. Period ^ ' ^ . 

of Theban city in Greece. While Epaminondas made relocated ex- 

^o?f^^o°^ peditions into the Peloponnesus, Pelopidas carried the 

(371— 3d<& 

B.C.) Theban arms north into Thessaly and Macedonia. Yet 



TRIUMPH AND DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 



191 



even under the leadership of these two brilliant men, the position 
of Thebes was not wholly secure. Neither Athens nor Sparta 
had succeeded in building up a stanch empire, nor was it 
given to Thebes to find a way to hold what her generals had 
conquered. Athens had rided by means of her navy and her 
tribute collectors ; Sparta had ruled through her harmosts 
and her decarchies; the power of Thebes was even less 
stable, for it rested upon the genius of two men, Epaminon- 
das and Pelopidas ; when they were gone, the Theban power 
was certain to fall to pieces. 

In 364 B.C., Pelopidas invaded Thessaly for the last time, 
and was killed in a battle fought at Cynoscephalse. Two 

years later, Epam- 
inondas, against 
whom many of 
the former allies 
were now arrayed, 
marched into the Pelo- 
ponnesus for the fourth 
time. The two armies 
met in battle near Man- 
tinea. Once again the 
now famous Theban 
formation was brought 
into play, and once 
again the Spartan forces were routed. But the battle cost the 
Thebans dear, for in his eagerness to wrest victory from the 
foe, Epaminondas was mortally wounded. Lying on the field, 
with a spearhead in his side, he lived long enough to learn 
the result of the battle ; then, when he was told that both his 
lieutenants were dead, he drew the spearhead from the wound, 
and, as he lay dying, advised the Thebans to make peace. 

Thus the two leaders of the Theban greatness died on the 
field of battle. Both have lived in history as men of the very 




191. Pass- 
ing of Pelop 
Idas and 
Epaminon- 
das 



Mantinea. 



192 THE DECLINE OF HELLAS 

noblest character. Not a word has ever been breathed against 

the purity of their motives, or the unselfish patriotism which 

192. Im- actuated them in all their deeds. If they failed to 

possibility remedy the disunion which had torn Hellas ever since 

of union 

within the dawn of its history, the failure must be charged not to 

Greece their incompetence, but to the incapacity of the Hellenes 

for union in any form. 

Had Epaminondas lived, Theban supremacy might have 
lasted a few years longer ; that it would have been permanent, 
is not in the least probable. Had the Spartans won at Man- 
tinea, the old state of things would have come into existence 

Xenophon, ^^^^^ more. As it was, ^' uncertainty and confusion had 

Hellenica, gained ground, being tenfold greater throughout the length 
vii. 5 

and breadth of Hellas after the battle than before." To 

establish a union from within was a hopeless task ; fortunately 

for the world and for the spread of civilization, a power was 

growing in the north which was to bring about that union 

which no Greek state had been strong enough to accomplish. 



By the terms of peace which ended the Peloponnesian war, 
in 404- B.C., Sparta became absolute mistress of Greece. Her 
193. Sum- supremacy she used, not to give the cities the liberty 
mary which she had promised, but to bind them to her empire 

even more closely than Athens had ever done. In every city, 
an oligarchy was established and a Spartan garrison quartered 
under the command of a harmost to do the will of the tyrant 
state. In less than ten years, all the cities were ready to 
revolt. In 395 e.g., they took up arms, and, under the leader- 
ship of Corinth, Thebes, and Athens, succeeded so far as to 
force Sparta to agree to the terms of the peace of Antalcidas 
(387 B.C.). The peace proved to be a new lease of power to 
the Spartans, and during eight years longer, they maintained 
their supremacy in Greece. Then came the revolt of Thebes 
and the new war which culminated in the battle of Leuctra 



TRIUMPH AND DEGRADATION OF SPARTA 



193 



(371 B.C.). From the day of the battle, for a period of nine 
years, Thebes was the leader in Greece. With the death of 
her two captains, Epaminondas and Pelopidas, her glory also 
passed away, and Greece was left once more a prey to strife 
and dissension, which no power from within could ever still. 

TOPICS 

(1) Contrast the rule of Sparta with that of Athens. Which Suggestive 
was preferable ? Why ? (2) Compare Agesilaus with Lysander *°P^^^ 
as regards ability and character. (3) Was the loss of naval su- 
premacy of more serious consequence to Sparta or to Athens ? 
Why ? (4) Who gained and who suffered by the peace of Antal- 
cidas ? Had Athens been in her old position, would she have 
agreed to it ? (5) To what were the victories of the Thebans over 
the Spartans due ? (6) Had Sparta been a maritime city, could 
Epamiuondas have crippled her power more or less easily ? 
(7) AVhy was Theban supremacy so short ? (8) In times of stress 
which government showed itself more stable — Athens or Sparta ? 
How do you account for this ? 

(9) Reasons for the failure of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes to Search 
bring about Greek unity. (10) Spartan harmosts. (11) The ^°^^^^ 
Thirty Tyrants in Athens. (12) Xenophon's account of the Re- 
treat of the Ten Thousand. (13) The military system of Epami- 
nondas. (14) The allies of Thebes. (15) Spartan bravery. 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 108, 162. Geography 

Bury, History of Greece, chs. xii.-xiv. ; Holm, History of Greece^ Modem 
II. ch. XXX., III. chs. i.-x. xiii. ; Sankey, Spartan and Thehan authorities 
Supremacies] AUcroft, Sparta and Jliehes, — Decline of Hellas, 
chs. i. ii. ; Curtius, History of Greece, IV. bk. vi. chs. i. ii. ; Grote, 
History of Greece, VIII. chs. Ixv. Ixvi., X. chs. Ixxviii.-lxxx. ; 
Oman, History of Greece, chs. xxxv.-xl. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, §§ 18, 19 ; Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, 
chs. 34-41; Xenophon, Anabasis, — Hellenica, bks. ii.-vii., — 
Agesilaus ; Plutarch, Lives, Lysander, Agesilaus, Pelopidas ; 
Diodorus, bks. xiv. xv. ; Nepos, Lives, Epaminondas. 

A. J. Church, Trial and Death of Socrates ; Barthelemi, Young illustrative 
Anacharsis ; Leatham, Charniione ; E. Palmer, Heroes of Ancient 
Greece. 



works 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PHILIP OF MACEDON, THE CONQUEROR OF GREECE 

Down to the battle of Mantinea, the history of Greece is 
that of a comparatively small country, whose people were in- 
tent on maintaining their individuality against the whole world. 
It is true that the race had spread over most of the Mediter- 
ranean coasts; but Greek civilization had not penetrated be- 
yond the fringes of the sea. It remained for a newer and 
fresher race to spread that civilization far and wide over the 
ancient world. 

North of Thessaly lies a country called Macedonia, which 
is divided by nature into three parts : first, Chalcidice, the 
194 Mace- ^^^^^^ along the ^gean Sea, where the Greeks had estab- 
don: the lislied themselves in days long past; second, the plain, 
people which was watered by tliree rivers flowing into the Mgesrn 

Sea; and third, the highlands, which consisted of a number of 
separate valleys, cut off from each other by high mountain 
walls, and inaccessible from the plains except by rugged moun- 
tain passes. 

In the beginning, the people of both highlands and lowlands 
were rude' and semicivilized ; but gradually, by contact with 
Chalcidice and Greece, the men of the lowlands advanced in 
civilization, and then, by their superior organization, reduced 
the highland tribes to partial subjection. Still, the men of 
Macedon were far different from their southern neighbors ; 
accustomed to an outdoor life, spending their days in hunting 
wild beasts and lighting with each other, they offered the best 
material imaginable for an army ; all they lacked was organi- 
zation, and that was finally supplied by the kings of the low- 

194 



PHILIP OF MACE DON 195 

land district. Of these the first to stamp his character on 

history was Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. 

When Philip was but a youth, and his brothers were kings, 

the land was torn by revolutions within and interference from 

without. Sometime about 368 b.c, Pelopidas entered -q. ,p. 

195. Tug 

the country and carried the young Philip off as a hos- youth of 
tage to Thebes. There the young man saw the best that ^ ^^ 

Greek civilization had produced. With two such models as 
Epaminondas and Pelopidas to study, and a mind eager to re- 
ceive whatever was to be learned, he allowed little that was 
good in the political or military system of Thebes to escape 
him. In 365 b.c, he returned to his native land, eager to put 
his new ideas into practice. At first he had to content him- 
self with whatever authority his brother was willing to bestow 
upon him; but six years later (359 b.c), when his brother 
died, he ascended the throne, and at once set to work to 
reorganize the kingdom. 

Philip's task was heavy. First he set to work to bring the 
various mountain tribes under his rule. Next, he thoroughly 
reorganized his army. He began by adopting, in princi- 
ple, the new formations which he had learned in Thebes. jp'g mili- 

Instead, however, of arminij^ his infantry like the Greek *^^y ^®°^- 

ganization 
hoplites, he abandoned almost all defensive armor, and 

improved the defense of his troops by lengthening the spear of 
his infantry so that the enemy could not reach his first rank 
without serious loss. This in- __ ^^ 

fantry, the mainstay of the /^^^^i/Mr^^ //^ -r- 

army, ranged in ranks sixteen 
deep, and armed with the long 
spear, formed the famous pha- 
lanx of the Macedonians. In 

addition, the army had a body of light-armed infantry, a regular 
cavalry, and a body of specially picked horsemen, the " Com- 
panions," who acted as a bodyguard to the king. Finally, 




Coin of Philip. 



196 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

there were the artillerymen, who manipulated the catapults and 
battering rams ; and the corps of engineers. Such an army, 
recruited from the peasants and mountaineers of Macedonia, 
organized and led by a military genius like Philip, could not 
fail to make its mark in the world's history. 

Having seated himself firmly on the throne and reorganized 
his army, Philip now resolved to become master of Chalcid- 

197 Philip ^*^^? ^^^'^ ^^® towns on the shore of the sea. First, by 
becomes skillful diplomacy, he succeeded in taking possession of 
Chalcidice Amphipolis, which the Athenians had always claimed 
(357 B.C.) a^g a dependency. Then, by making bold promises, and 

by distributing gifts with a liberal hand, he drew into an alli- 
ance with him Olynthus, the most important city in Chalcid- 
ice, and her allies. Finally, he seized the town of Pydna ; and 
before the end of the year 357 b.c, he was either master or 
close ally of every important town from Pydna to Amphipolis. 

Frightened by the rapid growth of Macedonian power, 
Athens determined to declare war ; but the chance of checking 
Philip was ruined by the revolt of the Athenian allies in the east. 
Though the cities of the ^gean and Ionia had joined Athens 
voluntarily in a new league in 377 b.c, they were tired of their 
bargain and did not rest till, in 355 b.c, they had gained com- 
plete independence. Meanwhile, Philip had fastened on Chal- 
cidice, and Athens was powerless to undo the work. 

Meantime affairs in central Greece led to Macedonian in- 
tervention. In 356 B.C., the Thebans trumped up a charge of 

198 Phil- sacrilege against their enemies, the Phocians, and cited 
ip's first them before the Amphictyonic Council, the great coun- 
paign (353- ^il of Hellenic states which had charge of the Delphian 
352 B.C.) oracle. The Phocians refused to obey the summons 

or to pay the fine which the council imposed, and thus the 
matter came to war. To maintain themselves in the contest, 
the Phocians seized upon the treasures of the oracle, and for 
a time success attended their arms. 



PHILIP OF MACEDON 



197 



One of their campaigns led them into Thessaly, which was 
at the time divided between two factions. Here in 353 and 
352 B.C. they were met by Philip, who had been called in to 
aid one of the factions. Though Philip was defeated at first, 
in his second campaign he routed the Phocians, killed the 
general in command, and prepared to enter central Greece. 
At this crisis, the Athenians, who saw in this movement a 
possible conquest of the whole land, roused themselves in time 




Site of Delphi. 

The modern town Kastri in the picture covers the spot that was occupied 

by the temple of the oracle. 

to meet the Macedonians at Thermopylae; as a result, Philip 
was checked and forced to withdraw once more into the north. 
Still, his was a waiting game, and lack of success in any par- 
ticular campaign did not dampen his ardor. 

In spite of this victory at Thermopylae, the condition of 
central Greece was in no wise improved. Athens only jgg poiit^ 
was capable of offering any serious opposition to Philip, ical condi- 
and in Athens political conditions were far from healthy. ens about 
There existed in the city none of that unity which had ^^^ ^•^- 



198 



THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 



characterized it in the days of Pericles ; there were no longer 
any leaders such as there had been in the days of old ; and, 
most important of all, the citizens had ceased to take any 
vivid personal interest in political affairs. Instead of serving 
in the army themselves, they followed the prevailing custom 
of the age, and hired mercenaries to do military service for 
them. Furthermore, the dream of empire had passed ; they 
were content to live in peace and enjoy the little that they 
had rather than to suffer the 
hardships of war and garrison 
duty incident to the control of 
a large empire. 

One man in Athens, however, 
had not relinquished all hope 

200. Oppo- ^^ ^^^^^'^ ^'^ ^^^y ^^^^^ 
sition of at the head of Hellas and 

Ss'to opposed to all foreign 

Philip aggressions. That man 

was Demosthenes. From his I 
earliest years, he had trained '• 
himself for the career of an 
orator and advocate, and 
though at first bis success as 
a public speaker was scanty, in the end he blossomed forth 
as the greatest orator that Athens or any other ancient city 
ever produced. 

Confirmed in the idea that the mission of Athens was still 
the same as in the days of Pericles, he kept up an unending 
cry for reform and for a more aggressive foreign policy. If 
Athens was to lead in Greece, the power of Philip must be 
destroyed; therefore, Demosthenes devoted his whole mature 
life to the arraignment of this arch enemy. " Whatever 

Demos- was done by the Macedonian, he criticised and found fault 

t enes with ; and upon all occasions, he stirred up the people of 




J)k:\iosthenes. 
Glyptothek, Munich. 



PHILIP OP MACEDON .199 

Athens and inflamed them against him." That the motives of 
Demosthenes were honest, we can scarcely doubt ; whether he 
was wise, is an open question. Had he lived a century earlier, 
his influence would have been entirely beneflcent ; but in his 
day, the freedom which he was contending for was little more 
than a hindrance to the development of the race ; what Greece 
now needed was a strong hand which could unite the various 
factions and lead them on to a wider influence in the world. 
Such a hand Philip was offering ; had Athens accepted it, she 
might have shared in the great work which was about to begin. 
It is due to the influence of Demosthenes that the offer was 
rejected, and consequently Athens continued in her narrow 
rut, while the Macedonian was carrying Greek culture to the 
eastern conflnes of the ancient world. 

For five years the cities of Chalcidice had faithfully observed 
their alliance with Philip; but in 352 b.c. Olynthus, frightened 
at the growing power of Macedon, resolved to break the g^^ philip 
treaty which bound her to Philip, and to appeal to Athens master to 
for a new alliance. Athens accepted at once. Appar- j^g ^g^y 
ently, Philip paid no attention to this breach of faith; ^-C) 

but, after three years, he found a pretense for declaring war, 
and moved his army into Chalcidice. The Olynthians at once 
hurried away to Athens for aid, where they found Demosthenes 
ready to support their demands before the assembly ; for he 
believed that with the safety of Olynthus was bound up the 
safety of Athens. 

" Therefore," cried he, " I say you must take heart and Demosthe- 
spirit and apply yourselves more than ever to the war, nes, ist 

contributing promptly, serving personally, leaving noth- 
ing undone." Through a series of three orations, which stand 
among the greatest in the world's literature, Demosthenes 
exhorted his countrymen; but his words had little effect. 
Though Athens sent aid, the service rendered was, half- 
hearted, and in the course of two years the cities of Chal- 



200 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

cidice, one after another, fell into the hands of Philip. 
Eesolved that this part of the Hellenic world should trouble 
him no more, he razed the cities to the ground, killed most of 
the men, and sold the women and children into slavery. From 
Thermopylae on the south to the Hellespont on the east, Philip 
was now master without a rival. 

South of Thermopylae, too, all Greece felt his growing power. 
Even Demosthenes, for the moment, seemed to think that the 

202. Peace struggle was hopeless. In company with several other 
rat^s^^°°" Athenians, he traveled north to sound the king as to his 
(346 B.C.) willingness to make peace. Philip was ready, and as a 

result of the negotiations, a peace, known as the peace of 
Philocrates, was signed. It was provided that the two parties, 
Macedonia and Athens, should henceforth live in amity ; war 
was to cease in all parts of Hellas ; only Phocis was reserved 
by Philip for punishment on account of the desecration of the 
shrine of the god Apollo. 

With no other enemy to molest him, Philip made short work 
of his campaign in Phocis. With the approval of the Amphic- 

203. Philip tyonic Council, he passed through Thermopylae, broke 
admitted to down such resistance as still existed, destroyed those 
tyony towns in which the war had centered, and decreed that 

the people should pay back to the oracle the money which they 
had appropriated ten years before. Then he had the Amphic- 
tyons decree that Phocis had lost her vote, and that henceforth 
the vote should belong to Macedonia. By this action, Philip 
reached the second stage in his progress toward the overlord- 
ship in Greece. First he had made himself master of Chalcidice ; 
now he had secured for himself a seat in the great Hellenic 
council, which gave him the right to interfere legitimately in 
the affairs of the land. 

The struggle was not yet over. Demosthenes, though he 
had acquiesced in the peace of Philocrates, soon repented and 
did all he could to stir up Greece against the Macedonian, 



PHILIP OF MACEDON 201 

After four or five years of nominal peace, open hostilities broke 

out again. Byzantium and the cities of the Hellespont were 

the prize for which the two parties were fighting. Of 204. "War 

the war, we know but little ; apparently, Philip was between 

' . ^ J FF J J r Athens and 

beaten ; certainly he was forced to abandon his attempt Philip re- 

to annex these cities, and Demosthenes found cause to ^®^®<^ ^^^^ 

D.yj.) 

exult in the assembly over the reverses of his enemy. 

This war in the east proved to be only a preliminary skirmish. 
In 339 B.C., the Amphictyonic Council declared that the town 
of Amphissa in Locris had committed a sacrilege against the 
shrine and must pay a fine. Amphissa, following the example of 
the Phocians, resisted, and war began. But the council now had 
a more powerful weapon than it had had eighteen years before : 
Philip and his army were now at its service, and Philip was 
eager to undertake the task of punishing Amphissa. 

Philip marched into Greece in 338 b.c. Passing through 

Thermopylae, he intrenched himself at Elatea, in northern 

Phocis. Demosthenes and his party, who were anxious oqk Battle 

to try conclusions with Philip, assumed that in fortifying of Chseronea 

. (338 B C ) 

Elatea Philip had abandoned the war upon Amphissa and 

was preparing to attack Athens. Accordingly, every nerve was 
strained to prepare the city for the coming struggle. Besides 
summoning aid from all the allies whom Athens had made in 
the years since the peace of Philocrates, Demosthenes now 
proposed that Athens should send an embassy to Thebes, 
whose sympathies had all along been with Philip, begging the 
city to come to the aid of the Athenians in this struggle of 
Hellas against Macedonia. Much to Philip's surprise and dis- 
gust, the Thebans resolved to stand beside their fellow-Hellenes 
in the war. Thus, when Philip marched south from Elatea, he 
found a considerable Greek army arrayed against him. 

Had the Greeks united fifteen years before, they might have 
crushed the Macedonian power ; now, Philip had grown too 
strong even for a united Greece. The two forces met in battle 



202 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

at Cheeronea, in northern Bbeotia, and the result was not long 
in doubt. Before the day was over, the Greeks were routed 
and Philip was master of Greece from Mount Olympus to the 
southern end of Attica. On that day, Hellas ceased to be free 
and became a dependency of Macedonia. Well might Philip 
give way to transports of joy! Had he not accomplished his 
greatest ambition ? Was he not master of the center of Hel- 
lenic civilization and of the greater part of the Hellenic 
world ? 

To the Greeks the battle of Chseronea seemed the greatest 

calamity which had yet befallen the land. After almost 

twenty-five centuries, we may take a different view of 

icance of the matter. It is true that a free Hellas was henceforth 

the battle ^ thing of the past; but, after all, free Hellas had done 

its work in the Avorld. It had developed the idea of individual 

freedom in government, it had created standards of art and 

literature which are still the highest in the world : what was 

now needed was some newer and more vital force to carry these 

ideas and institutions into the wider world beyond the confines 

of Greece. That this force was not to be found in the land 

itself had been proved by all the events since the days of 

Pericles ; newer and more energetic blood than that of the 

Hellenes was needed, and that newer blood was found in 

Macedonia. 

In the twenty-one years (359-338 b.c.) that Philip was king 
he accomplished three important tasks. During the first 
207 Sum- "t^^ years of his reign, he unified his kingdom and made 
mary it secure against the enemies who hovered on its borders. 

Then he gained control of Chalcidice ; that is, of an outlet for 
his kingdom on the .^gean Sea. That task was partly com- 
pleted as early as 357 b.c, but it was not till the fall of Olyn- 
thus, in 347 b.c, that his control was complete. Finally, he 
made himself master of Greece by a series of events beginning 



PHILIP OF IVIACEDON 



203 



with his first interference in Thessaly in 353 b.c, and ending 
on the field of Chaeronea in 338 b.c. A fourth task remained 
upon which he had undoubtedly mused long before this : to 
carry his conquests into the east, against the Persian king. 



TOPICS 

(1) What other Hellenic country had physical and political 
divisions like Macedonia ? (2) Why did the people of the lowlands 
advance in civilization more rapidly than those of the highlands ? 

(3) Why has no inland country ever become a leader of nations ? 

(4) Why was the hiring of mercenaries a weakness ? Give an ex- 
ample from the Revolutionary AVar in this country. (5) Was the 
organization of Philip's army responsible for his victories? How 
did it compare with the army of Epaminondas ? with that of 
Sparta? (6) If the Greeks had won at Chaeronea, do you think 
they would have become unified ? Give your reasons. 

(7) What can be said against the view of Demosthenes as to 
the danger to Greece ? (8) Events in Macedonia after the fall 
of Greece. (0) The Macedonian phalanx. (10) An account of 
the Amphictyonic Council. (11) The works of art in Delphi. 
(12) An account of one of the speeches of Demosthenes. (13) The 
character of Philip. (14) Causes for the fall of Greece. 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 162. 

Bury, History of Greece, ch. xvi. ; Holm, History of Greece, III. Geography 
chs. xiv.-xviii. ; Curteis, Bise of the Macedonian Empire, chs. i.- 
vii. ; Allcroft, Decline of Hellas, chs. iii.-vii. ; Curtius, History 
of Greece, V. bk. vii. ; Grote, History of Greece, XI. chs. Ixxxvi.-xc. ; 
Oman, History of Greece, chs. xli.-xliii. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 20 ; Plutarch, Lives, Demosthenes ; Demos- 
thenes, Orations ; ^schines, Orations ; Diodorus, bk. xvi. ; Diony- 
sius, Letters, 1. 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



WOLF. ANC. HIST. 



13 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT: THE CONQUEST OF THE EAST 

The subjection of Greece was only a step in the accomplish- 
ment of Philip's greatest ambition, the conquest of Persia. 

208 Pacifi- Before he could undertake an expedition, to the east, 
cation of however, he was obliged to arrange his affairs in Greece. 
(338-337 Thebes, which had deserted him in his hour of need, was 
^•C-) severely punished ; its walls were dismantled, a garrison 

introduced into Cadmea, the government handed over to the oli- 
garchs, and the Theban captives either put to death or sold into 
slavery. Athens was treated more leniently. Instead of march- 
ing against the city as the people expected, Philip offered the as- 
sembly an honorable peace. The city was to retain its liberty, 
its captives were to be restored, and the Athenians were to be 
treated as equals by the Macedonians. Needless to say, xithens 
gladly accepted these terms, and Philip was free to carry out 
his other schemes. 

First he suppressed such opposition as still existed in the 
Peloponnesus; then, in 337 b.c, he called the Greeks together 

209 Philip ^^^ council at Corinth, where he outlined his future policy. 

prepares He proposed to form an Hellenic League, whose members 
to invade ... 

Persia were to govern themselves according to their ancient 

customs, who were to be free in their commerce and trade 
as of old; whose only obligation to Macedonia should be 
to support the king in his coming expedition against Persia. 
The Greek cities accepted the arrangement, because they could 
not do otherwise ; but their support was not sincere, and conse- 
quently they lost the opportunity of being active participants 
in the expedition soon to be undertaken, for which the best 

204 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 205 

and most far-seeing men of Hellas had been praying for the 
last half century. 

Preparations went on actively, and by 336 b.c. Philip was 
ready to start for Asia Minor. He was never to accomplish 
his purpose, however, for he was foully murdered just when he 
was about to begin his journey, at the age of forty-seven, in the 
full height of his glory ; and thus, for the moment, his schemes 
of conquest were left without a leader. 

In person, this great prince was of noble presence, a bold 
rider, a good swimmer, and a finished athlete. He had a keen 
appreciation of the art and literature which have made 
the Greek so famous ; yet his whole life was devoted to acter of 
most serious purposes. When he had an end to reach, Philip 

no exertion, mental or physical, was too great for him. If he 
could not win by straightforward methods, he was not above 
trying crooked diplomacy : bribery, flattery, and false promises 
were made to serve his ends, where honest dealing and open 
force could not succeed; but he preferred honest means to 
chicanery, and for that we must give him credit. Often he 
was cruel, but cruelty was common in his age, and therefore 
he is no more blameworthy than the Spartan generals or the 
Athenian mobs. His greatest genius showed itself in his mili- 
tary organization, in his ability to choose the right men to serve 
him, in his perfect comprehension of the possibilities of every 
situation, and in his inflexible determination to reach his goal. 
Never hurrying, never impatient, he moved steadily onward 
with his eyes ever fixed on the goal of his ambition. Were he 
not overshadowed by his still greater son, his would be the most 
brilliant career in all Greek history. 

When Philip died, his only legitimate heir was Alexander, 
a lad of twenty. That such a boy could take up the 211 Alex- 
work where his father had left it, seemed beyond human ander quells 
expectation, but Alexander at once proved himself a (338-336 
worthy successor of his father. With an energy that was ^^^ 



206 



THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 




Alexander. 
Glyptothek, Munich. 



entirely imlooked for, he inarched into Greece, where Demos- 
thenes was fomenting trouble, overawed his opponents, had 

himself elected to his father's 
position of captain-general of 
the Hellenes, settled the affairs 
of the Hellenic League, and 
then disappeared into the north 
to show his strength to the wild 
tribes of the Balkans and 
Thrace, who had also risen in 
rebellion. 

AVhile he was thus engaged, 
the Greeks, encouraged by a 
rumor of his death, again raised 
the standard of revolt. Once 
more Alexander hurried south, 
and sitting down before Thebes, 
the leader in the new rebellion, he did not relinquish the siege 
till the city had fallen and he had literally destroyed it from 
the face of the earth. The other cities hastened to make their 
peace with this young Hercules of war, and rebellion in Greece 
was over for some years to come. 

Alexander was now ready to take up the plans which he had 
212. Alex- inherited from his father. Leaving Antipater, one of 

anderpre- j^-^ father's lieutenants, as governor of Macedonia and 
pares to in- . 

vade Persia overlord of Greece, he set out for Asia. 

The wretched condition of the Persian empire was no 

longer a secret to Greek or Macedonian. Since the days of 

Xenophon, Greek mercenaries and Greek travelers had been 

bringing back news of the weakness of the government. 

Stretching from the Indus to the Hellespont, from the 

Caspian Sea to the cataracts of the Nile, the empire had 

scarcely one bond of unity. All sorts of people, of every 

race, language, and religion, were included in its dominions ; 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 207 

and if there had been no effective revolt in the two centuries 
in which the Persians had held sway, the reason was to be 
found in the lack of unity among the different races, rather 
than in the strength of the ruling dynasty. Against this 
tottering empire, the young conqueror now directed his arms. 
In 334 B.C., Alexander crossed the Hellespont with an 
army of thirty -five or forty thousand men and turned north- 
east to meet a Persian army which was waiting for him 213. Battle 

on the banks of the Granicus, a small river flowing . ,1^1 

' ^ mcus (334 

into the Propontis. Though the odds in numbers and B.C.) 

position were distinctly against him, he unhesitatingly offered 
battle. The result proved the wisdom of his course: the 
Persian force, a motley collection of native troops and Greek 
mercenaries, was no match for the superbly trained army of 
Macedonian veterans; the Asiatic army was completely routed, 
and Alexander was free to enter Asia Minor. 

From the river Granicus, Alexander marched south along 
the coast of the ^Egean. He had found that he could not 
depend, as he expected, upon the support of the Greeks of 214 Con- 
Asia Minor; consequently, he decided that their cities quest of 
must be reduced before he dared to venture farther inland. (334-333 
For a year or more he made war upon these cities which ^•^•) 

should have been his allies : in the end, they were all subdued ; 
and then Alexander turned his attention to the Persian king, 
who was hastening to oppose him. 

In his eagerness to meet the oncoming host, Alexander 
allowed Darius, the Persian king, to outmaneuver him, and to 
get between him and his base of supplies. Nothing remained 
but to turn back and meet the enemy on his own ground. At 
Issus, in the extreme southeastern corner of Asia Minor, the 
forces of Europe and Asia again stood opposed to each other. 

Darius knew the importance of the battle and advanced with 
an immense army. The odds, reckoned in men, were five or 
ten to one against the young Macedonian; but Darius, with 



208 



THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 




Battle of Issus. 

At northeast corner of the 
Mediterranean. 



singular lack of foresight, had chosen 
the poorest possible position for his 
army ; the held was so narrow that 
only a fraction of his troops could 
possibly be brought into action, and, 
as a result, the struggle which fol- 
lowed can scarcely be called a battle. 
With intrepid courage, the Macedo- 
nians advanced to the attack, and 
before the Persians could bring their 
strength to bear, the victory had 
already been won. Hordes of men 
perished on the field ; the rest, led 
by Darius himself, fled in confusion, 

leaving the camp and the household of the king to the mercy of 

the conqueror. 

Instead of following Darius in his flight, Alexander turned 

south into Syria. In Phoenicia, Tyre, still the greatest trading 
215. Alex- ^^^y ^^^ ^^^^ extreme eastern Mediterranean, stubbornly 

anderin j^eld out seven months against the siege of Alexander, 
Phoenicia , ... . _ n , •, 

and Egypt but all ni vam ; by a series oi bril- 

(332 B.C.) liaut engineering feats, the city 
was finally taken, and it was severely 
punished for its stiff-necked opposition. 
Prom Phoenicia, Alexander marched 
south into Egypt. The Egyptians, en- 
tirely willing to change their masters, 
surrendered their land without a strug- 
gle, and Alexander remained there 
only long enough to settle the terms 
on which it should be held, to make a 

journey into the desert to visit the shrine of the god Ammon, 
and to found the city of Alexandria, destined in time to become 
the center of Hellenic culture in the east. 




Tyre. 



\ 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 



209 



of Arbela 
(331 B.C.) 



Alexander had been away from his native land scarcely 
three years, yet he was now master of the western part of the 
Persian empire. His love of conquest was not yet g^g Battle 
satiated, and he determined to go on eastward. Back 
through Phoenicia, over the mountains of Syria, by the 
road which the Egyptian and Assyrian hosts had traveled 
hundreds of years before, he marched into the heart of the 
Persian empire. 

At Arbela, near the site of old Nineveh, he met Darius in 
battle for the last time. Again the Great King was deter- 
mined to win ; since the battle of Issus, he had gathered an 
army such as his ancestor Xerxes had led across the Hellespont. 
Nothing daunted, Alexander advanced, and the scenes of Gra- 
nicus and Issus were repeated. "So decisive was his ^ 

Justin, XI. 14 

victory," says the historian Justin, " that after it none 
ventured to rebel against him ; and the Persians, after so 
many years of supremacy, patiently 
submitted to the yoke of servitude." 
Darius fled across the mountains 
into Media, and Alexander marched 
south to receive the homage of 
the ancient cities of the Tigris- 
Euphrates valley. Babylon and 
Susa opened their gates without 
resistance. From Susa, he journeyed 
to Persepolis, the ancient capital of 
Persia, " the richest city under the sun." Here, in sheer Diodorus 
wantonness, giddy with the lust of conquest, Alexander 
committed an act of vandalism which showed that success had- 
turned his head. In a drunken fit, urged on by his worse than 
thoughtless companions, he set fire to the royal palace and 
destroyed one of the great monuments of Asiatic civilization. 

For some time, Alexander indulged in a continuous round of 
pleasure ; at length, he roused himself to pursue the fleeing 




Staircase at Persepolis. 



217. Alex- 
ander mas- 
ter of the 
Persian 
empire 



xvii. 7 




210 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 211 

king. Since the battle of Arbela, Darius had been wandering, 
a homeless fugitive, in the north. Now Alexander hoped to 
capture him. But he came too late; before he could 21 8. Alex- 
overtake the flyinof kin^, Darius had been murdered by . ^^^^^ ^ 
•^ ° °' "^ journey to 

one of his satraps, who hoped by the deed to gain the India 

favor of the young conqueror. In a lonely pass in the moun- 
tains, Alexander found the deserted body. The sight filled 
him with intense grief, and in a generous moment he provided 
a splendid funeral procession and sent the remains back to 
Persepolis to be buried with all the honors due to a king. 

Still the love of conquest urged the young Macedonian on. 
From Media, he proceeded east, ever east, into lands where 
probably no European had ever traveled before. One after 
another, the tribes which inhabited the plateau of Iran and the 
plains and rivers to the north were reduced, till, in 326 b.c, he 
reached the Indus River, the eastern limit of the Persian empire. 

Still his ambition was not satisfied : he longed to reach the 
eastern seas, of which vague rumors had come to him in his 
journeyings. But the army was weary and at the Hyphasis it 
refused to go any farther, so that Alexander, much against his 
will, was finally forced to turn back. 

Slowly, over the burning sands of Baluchistan and through 
the unknown waters of the Indian Ocean, the army returned to 
Susa. Finally, after ten years of almost continuous cam- 219. Alex- 
paigning, Alexander settled down in Babylon in 324 B.C., ^^nder's re- 
where he established his temporary capital. Not that he death 

contemplated a life of ease : to such a nature as his, that would 
have been impossible. His mind was full of schemes of further 
conquest, of expeditions into new and unexplored regions. In 
time he intended to lead a campaign into Arabia, possibly 
later to follow the shores of the Mediterranean to Italy and 
even to the Pillars of Hercules beyond. 

None of these plans were realized. The few years which 
Alexander had lived were years of a most strenuous life. 



212 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

Always on the move, always busied with new and wondrous 
schemes, the twelve years of his reign had meant more to 
him than fifty years to an ordinary man. Hence, when in 
323 B.C. a fever attacked him, he succumbed to the disease 
without a struggle. We can imagine the sensation which his 
death produced in the world. Scarcely thirty-three years old, 
he had hardly begun his life work ; such a contingency as 
his death was the last thought that had occurred to any man, 
least of all to himself. Everything from Macedonia on the 
west to India on the east was left at loose ends, and no one 
came forward great enough to gather up the threads. 

It is hard to say anything of Alexander that will not appear 
^'^t^SiY9ig^iit. Had he lived a few centuries earlier, he 

220. Al6X- 

ander, the would certainly have been called a demigod ; as it is, he 
^^^ stands the greatest among the men of ancient times. 

Personally, he was everything that was attractive ; in char- 
acter, also, he had those qualities which have won men in all 
ages : sincere and open in his dealings with men, a good friend 
and a forgiving enemy, he loved to do good where he could, and 
felt no exertion too great, no danger too threatening, to gain 
what he or a friend desired. His greatest fault was his vio- 
lent and hasty temper ; yet even that he learned to control far 
better than most men ; and if at times his passion did get 
the better of his judgment, his contrition knew no bounds, 
and he did all in his power to atone for his rash deeds. 
Proud of his achievements, as he might well be, he allowed 
himself the weakness of claiming divine origin and of demand- 
ing homage from those about him. Finally, he made the 
mistake of imitating the manners and customs of the Persians 
among whom he cUme to live. Among his many good qualities, 
these few faults may surely be forgiven. 

As a general, his superior tactics and strategy give him a 
place among the greatest geniuses of all ages. Able by his 
personal courage to inspire his soldiers to deeds of heroic 



i 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 



213 



grandeur, he was so resourceful as to command the perfect 
confidence of his lieutenants ; he won his battles, not by 
chance or by superior numbers, but by his ability to grasp 
the essential point in each engagement, and to provide for 
every conceivable chance which a battle might bring forth. 




So-called Sarcophagus of Alexander. 

Constantinople ; relief supposed to represent the battle of Issus. Alexander 
was not buried in this sarcophagus, however. 



This was the man. Of his work in the world, even more 
can be said. Establishing himself firmly on his father's 
throne at an age when most men have scarcely escaped 221. Alex- 
from the control of their tutors, he carried his victori- ander'scon- 
ous arms in less than ten years to the confines of the ^q civiliza- 
known world. AVhat he conquered, he organized on tion 

a plan superior to that of the Persian kings. Instead of 
intrusting his administration to a number of satraps whose 



214 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY 

authority, under the king, was supreme, he divided the pro- 
vincial authority between three men : a military commander, 
a civil governor, and a financial officer, — so that no one of the 
three should have an excess of power. 

Into the oriental world, he brought a newer and better 
civilization. Where there had been only extreme despotism 
and a government that discouraged trade and civilization, 
he introduced a milder and a more beneficent rule, and 
encouraged progress in every way that he could. As he 
traveled, he established cities, more than seventy in all, so 
tradition says; and in time these cities became the centers 
not only for an extensive trade in which the goods of the 
east were exchanged for the goods of the west, but also for 
the exchange of ideas, which in the end caused the distinc- 
tion between Greek and barbarian to disappear. 

If his conquests did much for the east, they did much for 
Greece also. They opened to the Hellene a new world ; they 
widened his knowledge, and revivified his love of travel and 
adventure ; they caused him to learn enough of the geography 
of the world to make the study of astronomy and navigation 
exact sciences. In a word, to Alexander we owe it that Hellenic 
culture and civilization ceased to be a narrow civilization con- 
fined to a small people, inhabiting a small fragment of the 
earth's surface, and became a universal civilization, exerting its 
influence over the whole world. 



The career of Alexander was short. Born in 356 e.g., in 
336 B.C. he succeeded his father, who, since the battle of 

222. Sum- Chaeronea, had been planning an expedition into Persia. 

mary ^jj^g next two years he devoted to campaigns in Greece 

and Macedonia, disposing of the rebellious elements which had 
shown themselves on the death of his father. In 334 B.C. he 
took up his father's plan of invading Persia. Thenceforth 
his life was one long campaign. Three times — at the Granicus, 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 215 

at Issus, and at Arbela — he defeated the Persian army; and 
almost daily, in those eleven years, he was encompassed by 
hosts vastly superior in numbers to his own. Yet he con- 
quered in every battle, only to die, in the end, of an ordinary 
fever. Though he lived but thirty-three years, his accomplish- 
ments were so vast that they have affected tlie whole history 

of the world. 

TOPICS 

(1) Did the council of Corinth leave the Greek states inde- Suggestive 
pendent ? How did Alexander regard them at the beginning of *°P^^s 
his reign ? (2) What causes which contributed to Alexander's 
victories also contributed to the victories of the Greeks over the 
Persians in earlier times ? (3) When the Greek cities of Ionia 
refused to submit to Alexander, what former experience do you 
think warranted them in so doing ? (4) Name other great con- 
querors fit to be compared with Alexander. Have they been suc- 
cessful in organizing the conquered territories ? (5) Do you tliink 
Persia was benefited or otherwise by Alexander's conquests ? 
What sliould you say about Greece ? (6) Do you think that what 
Alexander did in Persia would have been accomplished without 
him by the Greeks? (7) Did Macedonian or Spartan supremacy 
do more for civilization ? Give your reasons. 

(8) Portraits of Alexander. (0) Battle of the Granicus. (10) Map Search 
of Alexander's routes. (11) Battle of Issus. (12) Character of °^^*^^ 
Darius. (13) The city of Alexandria. (U) Battle of Arbela. 
(15) Present remains of Persian art and buildings. (16) The 
burning of Persepolis. (17) Alexander in India. (18) Stories of 
Bucephalus. 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 59, 108, 210. Geography 

Bury, History of Greece, chs. xvii.-xviii. ; Holm, History of Modern 
Greece, III. chs. xix.-xxvii. xxix. ; Curteis, Bise of the Mace- authorities 
donian Empire, chs. viii.-xvii. ; Allcroft, Decline of Hellas, chs. 
viii.-x. ; AVheeler, Alexander the Great ; Dodge, Alexander the 
Great', Grote, History of Greece, XII. chs. xci.-xciv. ; Fowler, 
City-State, ch. xi. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 21 ; Plutarch, Lives, Alexander, Demosthe- 
nes, Phocion ; Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander ; Diodorus, bk. xvii. 

J. S. C. Abbott, History of Alexander ; A. J. Church, A Young Illustrative 
Macedonian in the Army of Alexander ; H. Greenough, Apelles. ^°^ ® 




216 




217 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 

Though it is by no means true that the history of the 
Hellenic world ceases to be of interest with the death of 
Alexander, still from that time forth the Greeks gradually 
lose their place as the dominant race in the Mediterranean 
world, and therefore it is time that we learned to know some- 
thing of the beginnings of the people who ultimately took 
their place. This race, the Romans, was one of the tribes 
which in times unknown had settled in the Italian peninsula. 

Geograpliically, the peninsula of Italy differs greatly from its 

neighbor, Greece ; its coasts are much less indented, and the sur- 

223. Physi- rounding seas are almost entirely devoid of small islands, 

V^of ^^ ^^^^^ most of its inhabitants, unlike those of Greece, 

Italy never became a seafaring people. Then, too, while the 

mountains of Greece ran in all directions, and divided the 

land into a number of small, comparatively isolated states, 

the mountains of Italy are so regular that the peninsula falls 

naturally into only three well-defined parts, — northern, eastern, 

and western. 

In the north, between the Alps and the Apennines, is an 
extensive valley watered by the river Po. The valley is rich 
and fertile, but for many centuries the Apennines served as 
a barrier between the people of the north and those of the 
south, and we shall therefore hear but little of the people 
of the valley till comparatively late in Roman history. In 
ancient times, the northern boundary of Italy so-called was 
the mountain range south of the Po valley. 

Joining the maritime Alps, near the source of the Po, 
the Apennines sweep to the east toward the Adriatic Sea. 

218 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 219 

When some forty or fifty miles from that sea, they turn to 
the southeast and follow the coast almost all the way down 
to the southeastern end or " heel " of the peninsula. Then the 
range turns to the south, and, after running through the " toe 
of the boot,'' rises again in Sicily and terminates finally in 
the extreme western end of that island. 

The political effect of the relation of the Apennines to the 
sea is evident: first, the mountains, as we have just seen, cut 
off the great plain of the Po, the longest river in Italy, from 
the lands to the south ; and second, since they are nearer to 
the eastern coast than to the western, the most important 
rivers flow into the western sea, and therefore the most 
important political divisions of the land are on the west coast. 

Between the Apennines and the western sea, there are four 
important river systems. In the north, the Arno runs through 
the plains of Etruria. In the center, the Tiber forms the 
boundary between Etruria and Latium, and its valley pene- 
trates far up toward the northeast. In the south, the Liris 
and Vulturnus drain the fertile plains of Latium and Cam- 
pania. In the valleys of these four rivers lay the seats of the 
earliest and most powerful civilizations of Italy. 

In soil and climate, Italy is a land of extremes ; in the low- 
lands, fertile valleys give way to malarial swamps ; along the 
mountain sides grow the fruits and grains of the temperate 
north; and upon the upper spurs of the Apennines all is 
bleak and forbidding. 

Of the migrations of the races into Italy, we know little. 
Probably, like^ the Greeks, they came from the interior 
of Asia or north of the Black Sea, and entered Italy 224. The 
from the north. That there were successive invasions Italians 
we know from the fact that all the people of Italy were not 
of one race. 

Of the earliest races only a few faint traces are left. 
The first really important race to enter the peninsula was the 



220 



THE ROMAN KINGDOM 



Italians, who ultimately dominated the land. Among the 
Italians, we are able to distinguish two branches : the Latins 
and the Sabellians. The Latins at one time occupied most of 
the plains from the Tiber south to the straits ; from them is 




I 



Early Tribes of Italy. 



derived the name of Latium, the district just south of the 
river. The Sabellians, probably later comers, lived mainly in 
the mountains of the east. The main divisions of the race in 
historic times were the Umbrians in the northeast, the Sabines 
in the upper valley of the Tiber, and the Samnites in the south. 
Close upon the Italians pressed the Etruscans. At one time 
or another, they seem to have overrun the entire peninsula as 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 



221 



far soutli as the Vulturnus ; then, weakened by attacks from 

without, they were gradually forced back by the Italians till 

they were confined to the country north of the Tiber. 225 Etrus- 

Here they lived and developed a civilization which had cans. Gauls, 

and Gr66ks 

considerable influence upon their southern neighbors. 

They seem to have been a people versed both in agriculture 
and in seafaring. They built excellent roads and majestic 
buildings. Their fields 
were watered by irriga- 
tion canals, their cities 
were drained by well- 
built sewers. Literature 
and art were also culti- 
vated ; but for modern 
times their history is a 
sealed book, because thus 
far no man has been able 
to decipher their written 
language. 

The last invaders who 
poured into the land from 
the north were the Gauls, 
who settled in the valley 
of the Po and eventually 




Gate of Perugia. 
The lower portions are Etruscan work. 



gave the name of Gallia, or Gaul, to that region. For several 
centuries they lived here in isolation, but occasionally they 
swept south across the Apennines into the land of the Etrus- 
cans and Italians. 

Besides these races which entered Italy from the north, we 
must not forget the Greek colonists who settled along the 
southern coasts. 

Among all the people who migrated into the land, it is the 
Latin branch of the Italian race which deserves our immediate 
attention. These Latins, according to tradition, were divided 



222 THE ROMAN KINGDOM 

into thirty cantons or townships, each of which had its center 
in a hill fortress where the people gathered for counsel and 
226 Latin defense. Among them there was a confederation, half 
confedera- religious, half political, with Alba Longa at its head. 
One of the thirty towns was Rome. Situated on the 
Tiber about fifteen miles from its mouth, safe from the in- 
cursions of the pirates who infested the sea for ages, the 
hills of the city offered an easily defensible fortress against 
all enemies, and at the same time enabled the Romans to 
demand tribute on all goods passing down the river. In this 
way the town grew and prospered, and in the course of time 
became the first among the cities of the Latin confederation. 
Tacitus, " In the beginning," says the historian Tacitus, " kings 

Annals, i. 1 ^^\q^ ^ygj, i^ome." This is all that we can say with cer- 
227. Leg- 
endary tainty about the early history of the city ; all the rest is 

history of r^ ^^ass of legend and myth. Still the legends deserve a 

Kome (753- 

609 B.C.) passing notice because there is in them a slight thread of 

truth which enables us to understand the early history of the 

city. 

The city of Rome, so the legend tells us, was founded by 
Romulus, a grandson of the king of Alba Longa. For many 
years Romulus ruled over the city, extending his dominions 
by war and caring for his people as a wise king. Peace was 
finally established with his chief enemies, the Sabines, and 
part of the tribe was induced to come to Rome and take up 
its place among the citizens. After a rule of forty years, Rom- 
ulus was carried off to heaven, and thenceforth he was wor- 
shiped as a god. 

Under its second king, Nnma Pompilius, a Sabine, Rome 
enjoyed a period of uninterrupted peace. All his days he de- 
voted to establishing religious festivals and civil ordinances for 
Cicero *^^ State. " Then, when he htfd reigned thirty-nine years 

Republic, in the greatest peace and concord, ... he departed this 
a 14 

life, having established two most important principles of 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 223 

government, — religion and clemency." The next king was Tul- 
lus Hostilius ; in his day war raged once more. Alba Longa was 
conquered, and the people forced to take up their residence in 
Rome. Other cities of the Latin confederacy, too, w^ere forced 
to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome. The reign of the 
fourth king, Ancus Marcius, like that of Numa, w^as marked 
by peace and prosperity. In his day, the power of the city was 
extended to the coast, where the town of Ostia was founded. 

With the death of Ancus a new era begins. Instead of 
choosing a Latin or Sabine as king, the Romans selected an 
Etruscan, Lucius Tarquinius. In his day, the state prospered 
greatly. All the lands for many leagues around w^ere brought 
under the Roman rule, much of the splendor of Etruscan civ- 
ilization was introduced into Rome, and many important pub- 
lic improvements were undertaken. Nevertheless, there were 
those in Rome who were discontented, and the king was mur- 
dered in his palace. Then his son-in-law, Servius Tullius, 
ascended the throne. He, too, met his death by the hand of 
an assassin, and Lucius Tarquinius the Proud followed as 
king. Though he devoted his reign to glorifying the city, 
though he extended its boundaries and adorned it with many 
public works, his rule soon became unbearable to the people, 
because of his harsh and overbearing manner. In the end, 
he was deposed and forbidden ever again to enter the city. 
After him, no king ever ruled in Rome. 

Out of this mass of legends, of which we have here given 
only the merest outline, a few facts as to the early history of 
Rome can be gathered. First, the city of Rome was a 228. His- 
member of the Latin confederacy, founded possibly by tained^in 
colonists from Alba Longa. In course of time, the Sa- the legends 
bines swarmed into Latium, devastating and destroying as they 
came. The Romans, among others, suffered from these depre- 
dations ; but succeeded in the end in making an alliance with 
the invaders, whom they ultimately absorbed into their politi- 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 14 



224 



THE ROMAN KINGDOM 



cal organization. In the years following, the city of Eome 
gradually raised itself to a position of primary importance 
among the cities of the confederation. These are the times of 
the first four kings. 

With the death of Ancus, a new element is introduced into 
the legend. To save their pride, the Romans of later times 




Su-CALLED Wall w Romulus. 

Part of the wall surrounding Roma Quadrata — the first settlement on the 

Palatine Hill. 

declared that a line of Etruscan kings had been elected to the 
throne ; as a matter of fact, it is probable that Eome, with 
many of the other cantons of Latium, was conquered by its 
northern neighbors. These conquerors, the Tarquin kings, 
probably made Rome their capital, and governed the rest of 
Latium from within its walls. Though the city prospered 
under their administration, the Romans were not content, for 
often the kings were harsh and overbearing. At last there 
came a time when the people were able to throw off the yoke ; 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 



225 



then the old form of government was abandoned, and a republic 
was established in its place. 

The earliest Komans were almost exclusively a race of shep- 
herds. A few of the people were farmers, a few others were 
simple artisans, a few lived too far from the city walls to 229. Roman 
return every night ; but on the whole, Rome was a sliep- early rTeS 
herd community, whose members pastured their flocks in period 

the lowlands about the city, returning to the hills at night to 
avoid the fevers and the wild beasts of the marshes along the 
banks of the river. 

The city proper 
consisted of a 
group of seven 
hills, among which 
the Palatine, the 
Aventine, and the 
Capitoline were 
the most impor- 
tant. The first 
was the aristocrat- 
ic quarter of the 
city ; the second 
was the home of 
the plebeians ; the 
third, which corre- 
sponded roughly 
to the Acropolis 

at Athens, was at one and the same time the seat of the gov- 
ernment, the sacred precinct of the city, and the citadel. 

Most of the people lived in rude thatched huts consisting of 
a single room, a few of the better classes had somewhat more 
elaborately constructed houses; but nOwhere was there any 
luxury to be found. Tools and weapons were made of stone 
01' bronze. Art and literature there were none. Conditions 




Hills of Rome; Wall of Servius Tullius. 



226 



THE ROMAN KINGDOM 



230. Roman 
religion 



may have improved slightly after the coming of the Tai-quinS; 

but even then the Eomans were centuries behind the Greeks. 

The religion of these early Eomans was almost entirely 

pastoral in its nature. The gods, for the most part, were 

deifications of the powers 
of nature : the wind, the 
sun, the warmth of sum- 
mer, the cold of winter. But 
the Eoman worshiped also a 
number of gods who were to 
him the presiding geniuses 
of his race : Jupiter, the 
ruler of gods and men, who 
caused the people to prosper 
or suffer at his will ; Mars, 
who brought victory or de- 
feat in war ; and Vesta, the 
patroness of all domestic 
virtues. Each of these gods 
had his special college of 
priests : thus there were 
the Flamens of Jupiter, the 
Salii of Mars, and the Virgins of Vesta who kept alive the 
fire which burned on the sacred hearth erected in her honor. 
Besides the national gods, each Eoman family had its own 
especial household gods called the Lares and Penates, who 
represented the genius and honor of the family, and to whom 
the Eoman owed allegiance almost before the gods of the 
state. In addition to the colleges of priests whose duties 
were connected with the worship of Jupiter, Mars, Vesta, and 
the other deities, there existed a special body of priests, 
the Augurs, whose duty it was to consult the gods through 
such signs as the flight of birds and the entrails of sacrificed 
animals in order that the state might not sin against their will. 




Vestal Virgin. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 227 

Among the free inhabitants of Rome, in this early period, 
three classes of society are to be distinguished : the patricians, 
the plebeians, and the clients. The patricians or nobles, 231. Classes 
who alone had full rights of citizenship, and who claimed ° ^°*^^® ^ 
to be descended from the original founders of the city, all 
belonged, in the first place, to one of the three original tribes. 
Even in these early times, however, the tribes had ceased to 
have any real significance ; the patrician was bound, not by 
his relations to the tribe, but by his relations to his clan or 
gens. Of these gentes, according to tradition, there were three 
hundred. Each gens had its own organization, and especially 
its own religious practices. Its members w^ere bound together 
by the tradition of a common ancestor. 

Within the gens were gathered the families, — a term by 
which the Roman meant something very different from what 
we now mean: the "family" included every man and every 
unmarried woman descended from a living father. Over this 
family, the oldest living male ancestor, the 'pater familias, ruled 
with untrammeled authority ; within its limits, he was king, 
judge, and high priest ; he could punish its members, even sell 
them into slavery or condemn them to death at his will. One 
thing only restrained him, — the custom of the community, 
which forbade him to exercise his authority unless he had 
sufficient cause. This authority, however, extended only to 
affairs of the family ; politically, his sons and grandsons be- 
came free the moment they became of age. Thenceforward, 
they were as much citizens as he, and as magistrates might 
even exercise authority over him. 

Commonly each family had attached to it a body of depend- 
ents called clients, usually recruited from among foreigners 
who had come to Rome to live, and from among the freed 
slaves. They attached themselves to the patricians because 
they could hold no property in their own names ; in return for 
the protection which the pater familias granted them, they 



228 THE ROMAN KINGDOM 

owed him service and fealty. Tlius, though they were free 
in person, their property and rights were bound up in those 
of their patron. 

The plebeians or commoners had limited civil rights in the 
community; they could buy and sell and hold property in 
their own names, but they were excluded from all active 
participation in the government. Most of them were small 
farmers or shepherds who had migrated into Roman territory 
for protection, or whose homesteads had come to be included 
within the limits of the city-state in its expansion. 

A so-called king ruled over the Roman state in earliest 
times, but in Rome there never existed a royal family ; the 
232 Th ^^ii^g was merely a magistrate elected for life from among 
king, the the patricians. Nevertheless, he enjoyed an authority far 
the Asse^ beyond that of most sovereigns of our day : he was com- 
ply mander in chief of the army, supreme judge of the peo- 
ple, from whom there was no appeal, and high priest of the 
Roman state. As the power of the pater familias was abso- 
lute and unrestricted within the family, so the power of the 
king was absolute and unrestricted in the state. The only 
check upon his authority was custom, against which he might 
not offend with impunity. 

In his position as chief magistrate, the king was assisted by 
a council of elders, called the Senate. Though the Senate 
had no powers beyond those which the king conceded to it, 
custom made it necessary for him to get its sanction for all 
laws. Furthermore, its authority was greatly augmented the 
moment the king died, for the Senate then became the repos- 
itory of the royal authority and held it as the representative 
of the people till a new king was chosen. 

Finally, the government included an assembly of the 
people. In this assembly, and for administrative purposes, 
all the people — patricians, plebeians, and clients alike — 
were organized into thirty curiae. When these curiae met in 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 229 

assembly, only the patricians could take an active part in the 
deliberations ; the plebeians and clients could influence legis- 
lation only by informal evidences of their desires, such as shout- 
ing or brandishing their arms. At best, the Comitia Cariata, 
as the assembly was called, had but little authority ; it was 
summoned by the king only when he wanted the sanction of 
the people for some action which he was about to take ; it met 
when a new king had been chosen, to ratify his election and 
to confer upon him the imperium, the powder of ruling over 
the state. Finally, it met at stated intervals for semireligious 
purposes : to sanction wills, to approve of adoptions, and to 
pardon offenders against the authority of the gods. 

Under the constitution just described, in the earliest days 
of the city, it is the patricians alone who took an active part 
in the government : even the plebeians were nothing more 233 The 
than passive citizens. With the a,ccession of the Etruscan Servian re- 
kings, all this was changed. The Tarquins were foreign- 
ers who cared nothing for the social distinctions which existed 
in early Rome ; their sole desire was to increase the military 
force of the state by including as many of the inhabitants as 
possible in the levy. The new constitution which they created 
was probably of gradual growth, but the later Eomans ascribed it 
to the wisdom of one man, the king Servius Tullius, much as the 
Spartans ascribed their constitution to the wisdom of Lycurgus. 

The constitution of Servius abolished the old distinctions 
between patrician and plebeian, and gave active citizenship to 
all who had above a minimum of property ; in other words, 
the right to participate in the government and the duty of 
serving in the army ceased to depend upon birth, and hence- 
forth depended upon wealth. Further, the city was divided 
into four tribes, which, like the tribes of Clisthenes in Athens, 
had absolutely nothing to do with the relationship of the 
members, but were merely geographical divisions of the city 
like our modern wards, for purposes of levying troops and 



230 THE ROMAN KINGDOM 

assigning financial obligations. Besides the four urban tribes, 
sixteen rural tribes were created, which included those Ro- 
mans who, as the city-state grew in territory, did not regularly 
reside within the walls. Next, all the citizens thus associated 
in tribes were divided into five classes according to their 
wealth. Each of the classes was obliged to furnish the army 
with a certain number of fully equipped men : the first class, 
for instance, was to furnish forty centuries, as the companies 
were called, of active troops and forty centuries of reserve ; 
the second, ten centuries each of active and reserve, and so on 
with all the others. In all, including the eighteen centuries 
of cavalry which were levied from among the richest classes 
upon another system, there were one hundred and ninety-three 
centuries. Originally, a century may have included only a hun- 
dred men, as the name implies ; but the term soon lost its nu- 
merical significance, aud came to signify merely a military unit. 
Though the purpose of these reforms was purely military, 
they improved the position of the plebeians, who now took 
234 The ^^^^i^ place beside the patricians as active citizens, even 
Comitia though they still lacked many of the privileges of the 
higher order. At stated intervals, the military levy met 
in an assembly, known as the Condtia Centuriata, for review. 
But what more natural than that in course of time the king 
should submit to the army thus gathered, questions of peace 
and war? From discussions of such questions, the assembly 
gradually passed to other subjects, and, in course of time, the 
Comitia Centuriata came to be a deliberative body ; in it both 
patricians and plebeians took an active part, while in the 
Comitia Curiata only the patricians could vote. 



I 



In most ancient times, there settled on the banks of the 

Tiber three Italian tribes, which ultimately united and called 

235. Sum- themselves Eomans. Besides these tribes, which con- 

J^s-^y trolled the affairs of the community, the city contained 



THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN HISTORY 231 

a body of people who were recognized as citizens, but were 
given no active share in the government. In these early- 
times, the city was ruled by kings, assisted by a council called 
the Senate, and by an assembly called the Comitia C'uriata. 
Then came the Etruscan conquerors, who modified the con- 
stitution so as to include among the active citizens those 
plebeians who were able to furnish themselves with arms. 
Out of the military levy which was called in review at stated 
intervals, grew a new assembly, the Comitia Centuriata. Be- 
sides modifying the constitution, the Tarquins greatly improved 
the condition of the city, and added largely to its territory. 
How long they ruled, no one can say ; in the end they were 
expelled from the city, and a republican government was 

established. 

TOPICS 

(1) Had the Adriatic been filled with small islands and had the Suggestive 
Apennines stood near the west coast of Italy, would the history of *°Pics 
Italy have been other than it is ? (2) How were the Italians re- 
lated to the Greeks ? (8) What advantages in location did Rome 
have over Alba Longa ? (4) Compare the early institutions of 
Tlome with those of the Spartans. (5) Compare the founding of 
Rome with the founding of Athens and Thebes. With what men 
in those cities may Romulus be compared ? (6) In what way did 
the government of the Roman family differ from ours ? (7) On 
which class of people would the power of the king bear most di- 
rectly ? (8) Compare the reforms of Servius Tullius with those of 
Solon and of Clisthenes. Why were military institutions given sucli 
a prominent place in all early reforms at Rome and elsewhere ? 

(9) What was the difference in composition, powers, and methods Search 
of voting between the Comitia Curiata and the Comitia Centuriata ? *°P^<5s 
(10) Legend of the Horatii and the Curiatii. (11) Early Roman 
towns which are still inhabited. (12) Etruscan art and buildings. 
(13) Early stories of the Gauls. (14) The Servian wall of Rome. 
(15) Present remains of masonry erected before the time of the 
republic. 

REFERENCES 

See map, pp. 216, 217. Kie-pert, 3Iauual of Ancient Geography; Geography 
Tozer, Classical Geography, chs. ix.-xi. ; Freeman, Historical 
Geography of Europe, ch. iii. ; for atlases see chapter i. of this book. 



232 



THE ROMAN KINGDOM 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



How and Leigh, History of Eome^ chs, i.-iv. ; Shuckburgh, His- 
tory of Bome, chs. i.-v. ; Mommsen, History of Borne, bk. i. chs. 
i.-xv. ; Ihne, Early Borne, chs. i.-ix,, — History of Borne, bk. i. ; 
Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. i. ; Duruy, History of 
Borne, I. chs. i.-iv. ; Taylor, Constitutional and Political History 
of Borne, ch. i. ; Fowler, City- State of the (rreeks and the Bomayis, 
chs. i.-iii. ; F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Institutions, chs. i. ii. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, §22 ; Livy, History of Borne, bk. i. ; Polybius, 
Histories, bk. ii. chs. 14-24 ; Plutarch, Lives, Romulus, Numa ; 
Cicero, Bepublic, bk. ii. chs. 1-30; Diony sius,- i?oma;i Antiquities, 
bks. i.-iv. ; Strabo, Geography, bks. v. vi. ; Eutropius, Compendium 
of Boman History, bk. i. chs. 1-9. 

A. J. Church, Stories from Livy ; Florian, Numa Pom,pilius ; 
C. H. Hanson, Wanderings of ^neas and Founding of Bome ; 
C. M. Yonge, Stories of Boman History ; Macaulay, Lays of 
Ancient Rome. 




wiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiii'iinltiiiiniiiiniiH 

End of the Cloaca Maxima. 
A sewer built by the Tarqums, and still in use. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

EARLY ROMAN WARS AND CONQUESTS 

EoME, under the Tarquins, was the capital of a miniature 

empire which extended from the Tiber to the hills of southern 

and southeastern Latium. When the kings were expelled ^„ 

^ * ^ 236. Roman 

(509 B.C.), Rome was left without the protection of her enemies 

Etruscan rulers ; her old enemies rose in full fury against ^^^ allies 
her ; and for a century after the establishment of the republic, 
the city was forced to maintain an unending struggle for mere 
existence. On the north, the Etruscans, led by the citizens of 
Veil, were constantly threatening ; on the east and southeast, 
beyond the plains of Latium, the ^qui and Volsci were an 
equally constant danger : and it seems as thougk Rome would 
certainly have been overwhehned had not Spurius Cassius, a 
patrician leader, succeeded in 493 b.c, in renewing the Latin 
Confederacy, which had evidently fallen into decay during the 
rule of the Tarquins, and in strengthening the Roman position 
still further by drawing into an alliance the Hernici, who in- 
habited the lands between the ^qui and the Volsci. 

The city was saved from many dangers by these two alli- 
ances. The Latin towns served as a buifer against which most 
of the incursions from the south and east spent themselves ; 
and the Hernici lay as a wedge between the ^Equi and Volsci, 
and prevented them from uniting against the common enemy. 
Thus protected, Rome was left free, for the most part, to defend 
herself against the Etruscans to the north. As it was, we read 
of hostile armies which time and again penetrated into the 
Latin territory and even to the very walls of Rome. Often only 
by the most heroic efforts was the city saved from destruction. 

233 



234 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

After the middle of the fifth century b.c, however, the tide 
seems to have gradually turned in favor of the Eomans, who 

««« TTr 1 were noted even in these early times for that spirit of 

237. Weak- , . "^ ^ 

ening of the dogged resistance which ever afterward made them famous 
°®^ among the nations of antiquity. Then, too, in the north, 

the Etruscans were held in check by the necessity of defending 
themselves against the Gauls, who were advancing southward, 
and against the Greeks and Carthaginians, who were attacking 
the cities of the coast ; and in the east and south, the Volsci 
and ^qui, in a like manner, were forced to defend themselves 
against the Sabellian tribes who were slowly forcing their way 
down from the Apennines into the foothills and plains of the 
Liris and Vulturnus. 

Now that Rome was freed from the constant inroads of her 
enemies, she was able very slowly to establish her authority 
firmly in the plains ; colonies, that is, military outposts, were 
planted in various parts of Latium and beyond ; the army was 
reorganized; and in general the city seemed to be concentrating 
her forces for the coming struggle with her most important 
enemy, Veii. 

In 406 B.C., the struggle opened ; for ten years, according to 
tradition, the Roman army lay before the walls of the hostile 

238. Siege ^^^7? while the men of Veii endeavored by alliances with, 
and capture their Etruscan kinsmen and by sallies from the city gates 
(406-396 to raise the siege. In the end Rome was successful : Veii 
^•^•) fell, and Rome was mistress of all the land on both sides 

of the Tiber from the foothills of the Apennines to the river's 
mouth. At the end of a century of republican government, 
Rome seemed to be out of danger. 

By way of comparison, it is interesting to note that this is the 
century of the greatest glory in Greek history, for in it the 
Greeks successfully repulsed the attack of the Persians, and in 
it the Athenians gained and lost their maritime empire. 

During the ten years of the siege of Veii, the character of 



EARLY llOMAN WARS AND CONQUESTS 



235 



the Koman army underwent a complete change. Heretofore, 

the citizens had been accustomed to campaigns which lasted 

only durinsT one summer; now the necessities of the sieare „„^ _ 

J ^ ^ '=' 239. Eoman 

demanded that the army should be constantly in the military 
field : hence there was gradually evolved a new system system 

of encampment, a new system of attack and defense, a new 



iPfe^* 



)^i^ 







Citadel of Vsn. (Restoration.) 



system of siege tactics, and, above all, a new system of 
supporting the army by regular pay to the soldiers. 

Henceforth the Eoman army was divided into what are 
known as legions. In each legion there were both light-armed 
and heavy -armed infantry. The light-armed troops, of whom 
there were twelve hundred in each legion, were used as skir- 
mishers and as auxiliaries in battle, and were organized as oc- 
casion demanded. The heavy-armed troops — three thousand 



236 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

in all — were organized into companies called maniples, aver- 
aging one hundred men. In battle they were ranged in three 
lines, in open order. The first two lines began the attack by 
hurling their javelins, and then closed in so that they might use 
the famous Roman short sword, the pilum. If the enemy did 
not give way, the soldiers of the front ranks retired through the 
ranks of those behind them, wliile those behind moved forward 
to the attack. Thus the legion saved itself from undue fatigue, 
and always presented an unbroken front rank to the enemy. 

Besides the foot soldiers, each legion was supported by three 
hundred cavalrymen, who were used for flank movements, for 
skirmishing, and for pursuing a flying enemy. 

All in all, the Roman legion was the most mobile, the most 
efficient military organization which the ancient world pro- 
duced. To incite the individual soldier to deeds of valor, the 
Romans evolved a system of military honors and rewards to 
which the lowliest soldier in the ranks might aspire. For the 
successful general was reserved the Triumph, a semireligious 
celebration in which the commander and his troops, with their 
spoils of war, marched through the city and to the capitol, 
where thanks were rendered to the gods. 

Meanwhile, the Gauls had advanced far into the plains of 

Etruria. "These people," says Polybius, "lived in open 

240. The villages and without any permanent dwellings. As they 

Gallic in- made their beds of straw or leaves, and fed on meat, and 
vasion ' _ ^ 

(391-390 followed no pursuits but those of war and agriculture, 

P j\- they lived simple lives without being acquainted with 

a. 17 any science or art whatever. Each man's property, 

moreover, consisted in cattle and gold, as they were the only 

things which could be easily carried with them when they 

wandered from place to place, and changed their dwellings 

as their fancy directed." 

In 391 B.C., while the G-auls were besieging Clusium in 

Etruria, some Roman ambassadors, forgetting that they were 



EARLY ROMAN WARS AND CONQUESTS 237 

present at the siege as peace envoys, actually took part with 
the men of Clusium in a battle. Bfennus, the Gallic leader, 
was enraged at the interference, and forthwith abandoned the 
siege and turned his hosts against Rome. 

In feverish haste, the Eomans prepared for the coming at- 
tack. When the armies met the next year on the river Allia, 
about eleven miles from Rome, the Romans were overwhelmed, 
and fled from the field completely demoralized. "Pur- 
suing the flying legions, in three days after the battle, a, js 





^^M 




l^^l 


^^H mi-. .1 


^^^^^H 


^^Sil;:^^Z"'^ ■ 


**^^'i-v^ 



Dying Gaul. (Capitoline Museum, Rome.) 

the Gauls occupied the city of Rome, with the exception of 
the capitol. But a circumstance intervened which called them 
home; . . . accordingly, they made terms with the Romans, 
handed back the city, and returned to their own land." In 
the days that they had occupied the city, they had completely 
destroyed most of the houses and the public buildings; con- 
sequently many of the citizens advocated the removal of the 
entire population to Veii, which still stood comparatively un- 



238 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

damaged only a few miles up the river. Marcus Furius 
Camillus, a patrician, the hero of the siege of Yeii, who had 
been most active in harassing the retreating Gauls, objected 
so strenuously that his counsel prevailed. Every one within 
the city set to work rebuilding the city, much as the Athe- 
nians had done a hundred years earlier, and within a year 
the city recovered internally from its disaster. 

The Gallic invasion checked for the moment the steady 
advance of Rome in Latium and Etruria. Encouraged by the 

241. War disaster which had overtaken their former foe, the 

with Etrus- Etruscans, ^qui, and Volsci with one accord rose in 
cans, .ffilqui, . r i i • i i 

and Volsci opposition to the Romans. Under the vigorous leader- 
renewed gi^jp Qjp Camillus and his successors, however, all these 
enemies were again subdued. Roman citizens were colonized 
in the Etruscan territory to such an extent that, before the 
middle of the century, a number of new tribes were added to 
the city, and the northern boundary of the Roman state was 
secured by military posts called Latin colonies, established at 
Sutrium and Nepete. Against the ^qui and Volsci, a simi- 
lar policy was adopted ; colonies were established along the 
border, and in the territory of the Volsci two new tribes were 
added to the city, making a total of twenty-seven. Camil- 
lus was the leading genius in all these movements; as Livy 

says, "He was truly a man among thousands; first in 
Livy, vii. l ^ "^ ^ ' 

war and peace, ... he was considered, next to Romulus, 

to be worthy of the title of founder of the city of Rome." 

In the years immediately following the Gallic invasion, 

some of the Latin allies also rose in opposition to the power 

242. Revolt of Rome. For about a century, they had suffered from 
allies (383 constant raids, while the city of Rome was for the most 
BC.) part saved unharmed. Furthermore, like the members 

of the Delian Confederacy, they had gradually sunk from 
the position of equal allies to the position of dependents, and 
consequently they chafed under the burdens of the alliance. 



EARLY ROMAN WARS AND CONQUESTS 239 

In 383 B.C., the confederation dissolved, and a war began 
which for some twenty-five years went on in a desultory way. 
In the end, the Komans won by dividing the enemy, extending 
privileges to one and punishing another. Then the Latin con- 
federacy was reorganized, but not as of old : henceforth Rome 
was to be distinctly recognized as the ruling city in Latium. 

Peace now reigned in Latium for a few years ; not that the 
allies were content, but the power to revolt was lacking. 
Then the Samnites came as a new element in the 243. So- 
struggle. Some of those hill tribes had gradually called first 
made their way down from the Apennines and estab- ^ar (343- 
lished themselves about the city of Capua in Campania. ^^^ ^•^•) 
By the middle of the fourth century, the Samnites of the plain 
had become thoroughly identified with the older inhabitants 
of Campania, and had lost most of their early warlike charac- 
teristics. In 343 B.C., if we may trust the tradition, they were 
attacked by their brethren of the mountains, and appealed to 
Rome for aid. Nothing loath, the Romans sent their armies 
into Campania, and by the year 340 b.c. they had driven the 
Samnites of the hills back out of Campania, and had made 
themselves masters of Capua and the surrounding country. 

About 340 B.C., eighteen years after the reestablishment of 
the Latin Confederacy (and while Philip was creating a 
united Greece), the allies made a last effort to throw off 244, End of 
the yoke of Rome. The newly acquired Campanian cities ^^^^^ ^°^- 
threw in their fortunes with them ; but the war which (338 B.C.) 
resulted was short and sharp; in two pitched battles, the 
Romans managed to rout the allies completely, and before 
two years had passed the Latin war was over. 

The Romans, victors in the struggle, determined that no 
such risings should occur again, and proceeded to reorganize 
the conquered territory on a new basis. Each town was dealt 
with separately. To some, rights of full Roman citizenship 
were extended, and these were merged into the body of the 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 15 



240 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Eoman community. The majority, however, were organized 
under a new form of dependence — they were to cease to exist 
as independent communities, and to be known lienceforth as 
Latin allies; the administration of home affairs, it is true, 
was still to remain with a body of elected magistrates, but the 
people were under obligation to serve in the Roman army, 
and the towns were strictly forbidden to hold any political 
communication with each other except through their mistress, 
Rome. All semblance of a confederation was gone ; either 
the cities were a part of the Ager Romanus, the territory in- 
cluded within the city-state, or they were direct dependencies, 
with only such political rights as Rome might grant them. 

To maintain herself secure in these new relations, Rome 
carried out stringently the policy which she had evolved in 
the century preceding the fall of the confederacy : all depend- 
ent territory was kept in the closest relation to the dominant 
state ; throughout the Roman dominions, colonies were estab- 
lished whose citizens were under obligation to protect the 
acquired land ; and finally, the home government kept the 
closest possible watch in order that it might crush the first 
signs of an itjcipient revolt. 



The century and a half after the establishment of the repub- 
lic falls naturally into three periods of almost equal length. 
245 Sum- ^^^ ^'^^® first, extending from 509 to 450 b.c, Rome was 
^ary acting distinctly on the defensive; hostile armies of 

Etruscans, Yolsci, and ^qui were constantly penetrating into 
her territory, and at times even to her walls. Only by the 
enormous power of resistance native to the race, and by the 
aid of her allies, was Rome able to maintain her existence. In 
the second period, 450 to 390 b.c, by the aid of her allies, 
Rome succeeded in pushing her enemies back, till she was 
practically mistress of all the land from southern Etruria to 
the hills of southern Latium. The crowning feature of this 



EARLY ROMAN WARS AND CONQUESTS 241 

period was the conquest of Veil, Kome's most formidable 
Etruscan rival. The third period, 390 to 338 e.g., opens 
with the crushing defeat at the river Allia and the destruction 
of the city by the Gauls. From this disaster, the city quickly 
recovered with a vigor which marks her as the future con- 
queror of the world. The climax was reached when, in an 
attempt to assert their independence, the Latin allies were 
completely defeated; and all the territory from southern 
Etruria to western Campania was organized either as a part of 
the Ager Eomanus, or as direct dependencies of the Roman 
state. 

TOPICS 

(1) With what other earlier conflicts between cities would you Suggestive 
compare these in Italy? (2) What was the real importance of ^^P^^^ 
the siege of Veii ? (3) Trace the changes made in the army from 
the earliest times through the siege of Veii. (4) To which of the 
Italian races did the Samnites belong ? (5) What portion of the 
territory over which Rome had control could be called republican ? 
(6) What difference was there between colonies established by 
Rome and those established by the Greeks ? 

(7) Traditional story of Coriolanus. (8) Traditional story of Search 
Cincinnatus. (9) Meetings of the Latin confederacy. (10) Battle ^°P^cs 
of the Allia. (11) Legends of the Gauls in Rome. 

REFERENCES . 

See map, pp. 216, 217. Geography- 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. vii. x. xi. xiii ; Shuck- Modern 
burgh, History of Borne, chs. vi. vii. ix. x. ; Mommsen, History of *" °^^ ^®^ 
Borne, bk. i. chs. vii.-x., bk. ii. chs. iv. v. ; Ihne, Early Borne, 
chs. xv.-xvii. XX. xxi., — History of Borne, bk, ii. chs. iii.-vi. xiv.- 
xvi. xviii., bk. iii. chs. i. vi. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, 
bk. ii. ch. ii. ; Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of 
Borne, ch. vi. ; Duruy, History of Borne, I. chs. vii. x. xi. xiv. 

Livy, bks. ii.-viii. ; Appian, Foreign Wars, bk. iv. chs. i. ix. ; Sources 
Polybius, bk. ii. chs. xvi. ff. ; Plutarch, Lives, Coriolanus, Camil- 

lus ; Dionysius, bks. vi.-xv. ; Diodorus, bks. xi. xiv. „, . .. 

ou 1 r, • 1 niustrative 

Shakespeare, Coriolanus. work 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS 

(509-287 B.C.) 

The change from monarchy to republic was accomplished in 

Rome with but few changes in the constitution. Instead of 

246. New the king, the Eomans now elected annually two magis- 

republican ^^.^^es called Consuls, to whom were intrusted almost all 

constitu- ' 

tion the powers which the kings had formerly wielded. They 

were at the same time commanders in chief of the army and 
civil magistrates. The religious functions of the king, how- 
ever, were conferred upon a special officer called the Rex 
Sacrorum. The two consuls were absolutely equal in au- 
thority ; either might act with full power, either might annul 
the acts of the other. Hence, to prevent deadlocks, and to 
give the government unity in times of extreme danger, either 
consul might nominate a single chief magistrate, called a Dic- 
tator, who at once assumed sole control of the state, and 
remained in office not longer than six months. Besides the 
consuls, the new constitution provided for several other offi- 
cials, chief among whom were the quaestors, who had charge 
of the state treasury. 

Practically no change Avas made in the organization of the 
Senate. Possibly a few plebeians were admitted to its sittings, 
but in these early years they can have had no real influence. 
The revolution which drove the Tarquins out was a patrician 
revolution ; by it the plebeians gained nothing of importance. 

In the powers of the two assemblies, however, a distinct 
change is visible. After the reforms of Servius TuUius, the 
Comitia Curiata gradually lost all its legislative powers, and 

242. 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 



243 



soon after the establishment of the republic it ceased to meet 
at all except for the single purpose of conferring the im- 
perium upon the magistrates ; the Comitia Centuriata, on the 
other hand, steadily rose in importance, till it assumed all 
the legislative functions of the government. Furthermore, 
the Comitia Centuriata was summoned for the election of 
consuls and all other officers ; and later met to hear the trials 
of appeals from the decisions of the magistrates, which were 
authorized by the lex Valeria, a law passed very early in 
the history of the republic. This law, as may easily be seen, 
curbed the arbitrary authority of the consuls, and was there- 
fore looked upon by the Romans as their Magna Charta. 

In spite of the growing influence of the Comitia Centuriata, 
in which both plebeians and patricians had a place, the govern- 
ment of the early republic was almost exclusively in the 
hands of the patricians. They alone were eligible to patrician 
office, they alone were regularly eligible to the Senate, and ° ^^^^ ^ 
by a majority of votes which they controlled in the Comitia 
Centuriata they could direct the entire course of legislation. 
If, by any chance, the voting seemed to be 
going against them, the consul, who was eoo- 
officio president, could at once interfere and 
stop all action by declaring that what was 
going on was contrary to the will of the 
gods : upon such declaration, the assembly 
simply had to adjourn. The internal history 
of the first two hundred years of the repub- 
lic, therefore, is the history of the struggle 
of the plebeians to establish themselves on 
an equality with their patrician fellow- Fasces. 

citizens ^^^^ consul's insignia. 

The constant wars of the early years of the republic, of 

which we have read in the previous chapter, bore most heavily 

upon the plebeians. Though there were some among the class 




244 THE EAELY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

who were well-to-do and even wealthy, the vast majority- 
were small landholders with farms in the lowlands about Eome 
248 First J^^^* large enough to support a single family. These 
secession of small farmers were equally liable to military service with 
ians^(494 *^® richer patricians ; and, while they were away from 
B.C.) home fighting the battles of the republic, their lands 

suffered from want of cultivation, and from the raids of the 
enemy. To add to the sufferings of the plebeians, the lands 
which their swords helped to conquer, instead of being dis- 
tributed among plebeians and patricians alike, were bestowed 
by the magistrates upon the patricians exclusively. The 
result was inevitable ; with their farms devastated, and no 
means left to them for acquiring new lands, the plebeians 
were forced to go heavily into debt, and debt in Eome in the 
beginning of the fifth century e.g., just as in Athens a century 
before, meant ultimate slavery. " Hence," says the historian 
Livy, 'Hhe plebeians loudly complained that whilst they 
were fighting abroad for liberty and dominion, they were 
captured and oppressed at home by their fellow-citizens ; that 
the liberty of the people was more secure in war than in peace ; 
among their enemies, than among their fellow-citizens." 

At last, when the plebeians found that the patricians were 
likely to continue deaf to their appeals for the redress of 
these grievances, they took matters into their own hands ; and 
in 494 B.C., on the eve of a war with the Volsci, seceded in a 
body to a hill several miles up the river, since known as the 
Sacred Mount. Here they remained, threatening to establish 
a new and independent city, till the patricians, knowing that 
they could not maintain themselves alone against the enemies 
of Eome, came to an agreement with them. 

By this agreement the worst of the abuses were to be reme- 

^i^^- I^ future, the plebeians were to have their own 
«49 . Crea,- m 

tionofthe magistrates, called Tribunes, who were to protect them 

tribunate against the exactions of the patrician consuls by inter- 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 245 

fering in lawsuits brought against the plebeians, and by ex- 
empting the plebeians from the military levy. These magis- 
trates were to be protected by the Sacred Law, which made any 
indignity offered to their persons a crime against the gods. 
At first, the tribunes were two in number; within fifty years 
their number had been increased to ten. At first, their powers 
were but slight; in course of time, they became the most 
powerful magistrates in the city. 

For the moment, it seemed as though the plebeians had won 
their fight. The root of the evil, however, still existed. 
There was as yet no thought of giving them any real 250. Fur- 
political rights ; and, with the government entirely in the *^®^ organi- 

Z£lLlOIl 01 

hands of the patricians, no remedy for the unjust dis- plebeians 
tribution of the conquered lands was to be expected. One 
man, Spurius Cassius, of whom we have heard in the previous 
chapter, did propose that the plebeians should be admitted to a 
share in the public lands, but he paid the penalty for his sug- 
gestion with his life : the patricians accused him of aiming at 
making himself king, and he was at once condemned to death. 
In spite of this setback, the plebeians kept on steadily in their 
fight for equal rights. 

For the election of tribunes, for the discussion of plebeian 
affairs, some sort of an assembly was necessary. What the char- 
acter of this organization was for the first ten or twenty years 
after the establishment of the tribunate, we cannot tell with 
certainty ; but in 471 b.c. the assembly was carefully organ- 
ized by a law which decreed that thenceforth only plebeians . 
who were landholders and members of the Servian tribes 
should have the right to take part in its deliberations. This 
new assembly, known as the Comitia Trihuta Plebis, is thus 
the third of the great Roman assemblies. 

The tribunate and the Comitia Tributa Plebis were two power- 
ful weapons with which the plebeians could fight for further 
concessions. Equal political rights with the patricians were 



246 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

as yet not to be thought of, but the plebeians were determined 

to curb the unrestricted power of the consuls. Just as in 

251. Teren- Athens before the time of Draco (621 b.c), the law in 

t^^^^^ifif ^' I^ome was exclusively the heritage of the nobles ; obvi- 

B.C.) o^^sly, the patrician consuls could interpret the law in 

favor of their own order, so long as the plebeians knew nothing 

of its provisions ; and therefore the plebeians determined to 

make a fight for the codification of the law. 

In 462 B.C., Gaius Terentilius Harsa was elected tribune. 
" Now in order that the unrestrained power of the patricians 
might not continue forever, he proposed a law that five 
men should be appointed to draw up the law concerning 
the consular power." Against this proposal, known as the 
Terentilian rogation, the patricians of Rome, like the Athe- 
nian nobles in the time of Draco, fought with all their strength ; 
for if the law were codified, they would lose one of their most 
powerful weapons. 

For almost ten years the battle raged fiercely; but in the 
end the plebeians won the fight. In 454 b.c, so the tradition 
252 Codifi- ^^^^^? envoys were sent to Athens to study the laws of 
cation of Solon so that the Romans might use them as models in 
(451-449 their forthcoming code. That this tradition is trust- 
Be.) worthy is doubtful; but the fact remains that in 451 
B.C. a body of ten men, the Decemvm, was chosen, whose 
primary duty was to codify the customary law of the city. 
In order that they might be absolutely untrammeled in their 
work, all civil magistracies, including the consulship and the 
tribunate, were suspended for the year. During the twelve 
months, a large part of the work was accomplished ; ten 
tables, or more properly tablets, were submitted to the Comitia 
Centufiata for approval, and everything pointed to a speedy 
and peaceful return to the former system of government. 
However, a part of the law still remained to be codified, 
and a new set of decemviri, with Appius Claudius at their 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 247 

head, was elected for the following year. Under their super- 
vision, two more tables were drawn up and submitted to the 
assembly, and the task of the decemviri was complete. 

At this point, the decemviri should have resigned and 
allowed the regular constitution to become operative once 
more; but for some reason, which is not entirely clear, Appius 
Claudius determined -to hold fast to his power, and thus forced 
upon the state a revolution similar to the first secession of 
the plebeians. The result of this revolution was that the 
old form of government was renewed, and by a law passed 
in 449 B.C. the guaranties of plebeian liberty were renewed 
and extended. Henceforth, the tribunes were to have the 
right to sit in the porch of the Senate so that they might hear 
the deliberations of that body and interpose their veto when- 
ever the course of legislation did not suit their fancy ; and 
furthermore, the decrees of the Comitia Tributa Plebis were 
to have equal weight with those of the Comitia Centuriata. 

The work which the decemviri accomplished was of the 
greatest importance ; for the code embodied, speaking broadly, 
the basic principles of all future Koman law, civil and 253. Law 
criminal. The Twelve Tables laid down the primitive m°^!^® 

principle of self-help and retaliation. They declared, for Tables 

instance, that " if one man break the limb of another and 
refuse to compensate him for the injury, he shall be punished 
with retaliation ; " nevertheless, out of them grew one of the 
grandest systems of law which the world has ever known, a 
system which to-day is still in active use in over half the coun- 
tries of Europe, a system which is one of the chief heritages 
of the modern world from ancient Rome. 

After the codification of the law, the struggle between the 
plebeians and patricians assumed a new form. Since the law 
was now the property of both orders alike, the consuls 254. Strug- 
could no longer hope in their legal decisions to favor ^.^. °j 
their own order exclusively ; therefore the original f unc- rights 



248 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

tion of the tribunes, the right to interfere in the trial of a 
plebeian, soon died out; but by this time the other function 
— the right to veto the acts of the consuls and of the legislative 
bodies — had so far developed as to be a powerful weapon 
in the liands of the plebeians, which they could use in their 
further struggles with the patricians. 

The struggle till now had been carried on largely by the 
poorer plebeians, who were anxious only to lift the burden of 
debt and excessive military service from their shoulders, 
while the richer plebeians had stood aloof as uninterested 
spectators ; but in 449 b.c. the latter also began to take a 
hand in the fight. Relying on the power of the tribunate, 
which could at will block the whole machinery of the govern- 
ment, they now began a vigorous struggle for" equal political 
rights with the patricians. In 445 b.c. they gained their first 
victory ; for in that year the Comitia Centuriata passed a law 
known as the lex Canuleia which granted to the plebeians the 
right of intermarriage with the patricians. Upon its face 
the privilege seems unimportant; but if we reflect, we shall 
see that by intermarriage the old distinctions between the 
two orders would tend gradually to disappear, and so the ple- 
beians would come in the end to a position of equality with 
the higher order. 

Furthermore, the Roman patrician marriage was a very 
solemn and serious affair, and by entering into its privileges 
the plebeian at once received great social distinction. In such 
a marriage there were two steps : first, the betrothal, in which 
the groom contracted with the father for the hand of his 
bride ; second, the actual marriage, in which the bride and 
groom were united by a sacred ceremony, partaking together 
of a consecrated cake in the presence of the priests, or by a 
secular ceremony in which the father went through the form 
of selling his daughter to the groom. 

The plebeians were not content with this single victory. 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 249 

Almost at once they began to demand that the consulship 

should be thrown open to them. Against this demand, 

the patricians fought stubbornly ; rather than share the 055 •«••■,• 

honors of the consulship, they were ready to make any tary tribu- 

other concession, and in 444 b.c. a law was passed by iished^444 

which, in any year when the Comitia Centuriata so deter- B.C.) 

mined, a body of six Military Tribunes with consular powers 

might be elected instead of the consuls. This new magistracy, 

which must not be confused with the older plebeian tribunate, 

was open to either order; it differed from the consulship, 

however, in the one essential point that the military tribunes, 

while exercising all the functions of the consuls, were not 

entitled to any of the honors of the office. 

In spite of this limitation, the plebeians might have been 

content, had not the patrician magistrates, who, as we have 

seen, controlled all the elections in the Comitia Centu- 256. Weak- 

riata, rendered the law ineffective so far as the plebeians ^^i^&o^ the 

^ consular 

were concerned by seeing to it that for over forty years power 

no plebeian was elected to the military tribunate. Fur- 
thermore, the patricians, who were now fully alive to the 
imminence of the danger to their privileges, managed by a 
series of laws so to divide the imperium that many of the 
powers of the chief magistrates were withdrawn from the 
military tribunate and from the consulship alike. It is only 
fair to add, however, that there was another reason for this 
division of power : with the growth of Koman territory the 
duties of the magistrates became more and more complex, 
and consequently the simple organization of the early republic 
no longer sufficed. Between 444 b.c. and 367 b.c, four new 
patrician magistracies were created : the censors, the military 
quaestors, the praetors, and the patrician aediles. 

Each of these new magistracies had its special functions. 
The censors were intrusted with the enumeration of the citizens 
once in five years ; they were endowed with absolute power to 



250 THE'Et^RLT ROMAN REPUBLIC 

fix the status of every citizen under the Servian constitution, 
and with the power of drawing up the senatorial lists. The 
military quaestors were to have control of the military chest, 
while the older qusestors continued to control the civil finances 
of the state. The praetors relieved the consuls of their func- 
tions as judicial officers. Finally, the patrician icdiles, along 
with the plebeian aediles who had come into existence some 
time earlier, took charge of the market places, the public 
buildings, and the general police regulations of the city. 

All these efforts were in vain. Slowly the plebeians attained 
to a position where they felt themselves strong enough to 
257 Licin- ^^^i^^i^cl absolute equality with their patrician fellow- 
ian-Sextian citizens. After the Gallic invasion, the poorer plebeians, 
(376-367 ^^^^ were again suffering from debt and from the unjust 
B-C.) distribution of the public lands, joined forces with their 

richer brethren. The clamor for economic and political reform 
grew day by day till nothing could check it. In 376 b.c. two 
of the tribunes. Gains Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius, pro- 
posed a series of laws designed to remedy the economic and 
political evils from which the plebeians conceived themselves 
to be suffering. For nine years the patricians held out, in 
spite of the fact that several times the tribunes actually went 
so far as to prevent the election of the regular magistrates. 
Unwearied in the struggle, the plebeians did not abate their 
demands, and in 367 b.c. the Licinian-Sextian proposals finally 
became a law. 

The essential principles of the new law were as follows : — 

1. That the military tribunate should be abolished, and 
that thenceforth one of the consuls should be a plebeian. 

2. That the college of priests in charge of the Sibylline 
Books, which contained prophecies concerning the future of 
Eome, should henceforth be open to plebeians. 

3. That no citizen should in future be allowed to hold 
more than five hundred jugera (about three hundred acres) of 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 



251 




RoMAx Books. 
From paintings at Pompeii. 



the public land or to pasture more than one hundred oxen or 
five hundred sheep on the public common. 

4. That landholders 
must employ in their 
fields a certain propor- 
tion of free laborers as 
well as slaves. 

5. That the interest 
which had previously 
been paid on debts should 
be deducted from the 
principal, and the remain- 
der of the debt should be paid in three annual installments. 

These five provisions may be grouped under two heads: 

the first two are distinctly political, the last three distinctly 

economic. The first were intended for the relief of the „„„ .„ 

258. Results 
political disabilities of the rich plebeians ; the last, for of Licinian- 

the relief of the economic distress of the poor. Unfor- ^extianlaw 
tunately for the republic, the economic provisions of the law 
became inoperative almost as soon as they were adopted; 
Licinius himself was convicted of having violated the law 
within a few years after it was passed. Nevertheless, the 
political provisions of the law mark the beginning of equality 
between the two orders. It is true that the patricians blocked 
the execution of the law in every way that they could ; but it 
was on the statute books, and in the end it was executed. In 
time, all the other patrician magistracies were opened to the 
plebeians; in 357 e.g., the first plebeian dictator was appointed; 
in 350 B.C., the first plebeian censor; in 337 e.g., the first ple- 
beian praetor ; in 300 e.g., all the priesthoods were opened to 
both orders alike; and finally, in 287 e.g., the acts and resolves 
of the plebeian assembly were given full authority of law with- 
out the necessity of senatorial approval. 



252 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Thus at the beginning of the third century B.C., after a 
struggle of over two hundred years, the two orders had come 
259. Sum- ^^ ^ position of political equality. The steps in that 
^^ry struggle are marked by the first secession of the plebeians 

and the establishment of the tribunate in 494 b.c. ; by the 
codification of the law in 450 b.c, when the two orders became 
equal before the law ; and finally, by the passage of the Licin- 




Shop of a Tradesman. (Pompeiiaii painting.) 

ian-Sextian law in 367 b.c, by which the consulship was 
opened to the plebeians. After that, the other magistracies 
were opened in rapid succession, till no special privileges 
remained to the patricians. 

We must not forget, however, that the equalization of the 
two orders did not reach down to the lowest ranks of society. 
The reform described, in the end benefited only the richest of 



STRUGGLE OF THE PLEBEIANS 253 

the plebeians ; and from the day of the passage of the Licin- 
ian-Sextian law, there grew up in Rome a new nobility consist- 
ing of the old patrician families and the few select plebeians, 
and the combination monopolized all the offices of the gov- 
ernment. The poorer plebeians and the large class of landless 
men, the freedmen and the tradesmen, were, for all practical 
purposes, as completely disfranchised as in the early days 
of the republic. When, therefore, we speak of the Roman 
republic, we mean not such a government as ours, where all 
classes have equal rights and privileges, and all men may 
aspire to office ; but a government where a comparatively few 
citizens control the state and monopolize the honors. From 
its beginning to its end, the Roman republic was nothing more 
than an oligarchy. 

TOPICS 

(1) What is meant by " appeal "? Do we enjoy such a privilege Suggestive 
to-day ? (2) Look up the stories mentioned in this chapter, in 
A. J. Church's Stories from Livy, and C. M. Yonge's Stories of 
Boman History. (3) Compare the condition of the plebeians 
before 494 b.c. with the condition of the lower classes in Athens 
before Solon's reforms. (4) What institutions did the troubles 
between the plebeians and the patricians bring into existence ? 
(5) Why was it that in Athens and Rome the nobles alone knew 
what the laws were ? (6) When did Solon live, and what did he 
do ? (7) Why did the plebeians favor, and tlie patricians oppose, 
the Canuleian law ? (8) What was the attitude of the Athenians 
toward foreigners w^ho settled in their city, and how did it compare 
with that of the Romans in the same regard ? (9) Do you see any 
reasons besides those mentioned in the text why new officers were 
appointed to take up functions hitherto fulfilled by the consuls ? 
(10) What is a rogation ? (11) How do the Licinian laws resem- 
ble those of Solon ? Why did the economic provisions become 
inoperative so soon ? (12) Why do we say that Rome was an 
oligarchy and not a democracy ? What is the difference ? (13) Is 
there a country to-day where the government, though democratic 
in essentials, is nevertheless oligarchic in its workings ? 

(14) Make a table of all Roman offices showing when each was Search 
created, and when it was opened to the plebeians. Do the same *0P^cs 



254 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



with the assemblies. (15) Slavery in early Rome. (16) The 
tribune in early Rome. (17) Contents of the Twelve Tables. 
(18) Power of the consuls in early Rome. (19) Roman marriage 
customs and ceremonies. 



Geography 

Modern 

authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



REFERENCES 

See map, pp. 216, 217. 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. v. vi. viii. ix. xii. ; Shuck- 
burgh, History of Borne, chs. viii. xiii. xvi. ; Mommsen, History of 
Borne, bk. ii. chs. i.-iii. viii. ix. ; Ihne, Early Borne, chs. x.-xiv. 
xviii. xix., — History of Borne, bk. ii. chs. i. ii. vii.-xiii. xvii., bk. iii. 
chs. ii. iii. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. ii. ch. i. ; 
Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Borne, chs. ii.-iv. ; 
Fowler, City-State, chs. iv. vii. ; Duruy, History of Borne, I. chs. 
vi. viii. ix. xii. ; F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Institutions, chs. iii. 
viii.-xi. 

Livy, bks. ii.-vi. ; Polybius, bk. iii. ch. 87, bk. vi. chs. 11 ff. ; 
Appian, Foreign Wars, bk. ii. ch. 7 ; Plutarch, Lives, Coriolanus, 
Camillus, Poplicola, ch. 11 ; Dionysius, bks. v.-xi. ; Diodorus, bk. 
xi. chs. 37, 39, 51-53, 68, bk. xii. ; Cicero, Bepuhlic, bks. i. ii. ; 
Laws, bk. ii. chs. 3, 4, 23 ; Twelve Tables, extracts in Howe, 
Studies in the Civil Law, Appendix A. 

Same as in chapter xviii. of this book. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST (327-272 b.c.) 

"Henceforward," says the historian Livy, "shall be re- 
corded wars which are of greater importance, because of the 
strength of the belligerent powers, because of the dis- j^. ^^^ 
tance of the countries from Rome, and because of the 29 

length of time during which they were carried on." Since 
the founding of the city, even in the time of the Tarquin 
kings, the Roman dominion had never embraced an area more 
than a hundred miles square ; Roman legions had never under- 
taken campaigns more than two or three days' march from 
home. Now, toward the end of the fourth century b.c, the 
Roman republic began to conquer lands many miles from the 
city and peoples entirely foreign in language and customs. 

The first of what we may call the foreign wars was with 

the Samnite tribes of the mountains. During more than a 

century, hosts of Sabellians had been making their way «„ 

& J 260. Sam- 

south through the Apennines to the plains of Italy, con- nites and 

quering the older races of Campania, Lucania, and Apu- Romans 
lia, and occupying their lands. In the last years of the fourth 
century b.c, the main branch of the race, the Samnites, still 
maintained itself in the mountain fastnesses east of Latium 
and Campania. These Samnites were a hardy race ; fierce war- 
riors, brave and generous, who lived by the scanty produce of 
their flocks, and what they could gather from their raids into 
the more fruitful lands of their lowland neighbors. As with 
all mountain tribes, their fatal weaknesses were their lack of 
organization and their inability to persevere in a struggle 
against an enemy. When united, they were a most dangerous 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 16 255 



256 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



enemy; but union for any length of time was impossible. 
Furthermore, their forces were constantly weakened by the 
migrations of those who sought more permanent homes in the 
lowlands to the west and south. 

Against these Samnites, the Eomans, supported by their 
allies of the plains, were now to be arrayed. While the 
Samnites had been spreading and dissipating their strength, 
the Romans had been extending their power and carefully 
organizing every inch of territory that they conquered. More- 



^ ^^KSMMMS 



^B^Tf^B^smmm^ m^isi^jmjmm i5^ 




Samnite Warriors. 
From a wall painting at Paestum. 

over, the Samnites were a race of warriors only ; civil organiza- 
tion they seem never to have understood : the Romans, on the 
other hand, had gradually created a carefully organized and 
well-established state, in which every man took a vivid per- 
sonal interest. Thus, in the struggle about to begin, the 
Romans had the decided advantage. 

Eor ten or fifteen years after the so-called first Samnite war 
and the last revolt of the Latin allies, which are described in 
a previous chapter, Rome was left in comparative peace by 
her neighbors. In 327 e.g., however, the Samnites occupied 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 



257 



the town of Xeapolis (Naples), which at that time owed al- 
legiance to Rome. Eome of course protested, and demanded 
that tlie garrison be withdrawn; but the Samuites re- 261. Begin- 

fused to comply with the demand, unless Rome would ^^^ ^^J^^' 
^ "^ ' ond Sam- 

withdraw her citizens from a colony which she had nitewar 

(327 B C ) 

planted a few years before at Fregellae, on the borders of ^ ' '^ 

Samnium. Rome refused ; neither party was ready to make 




Modern Naples. (Vesuvius in the distance.) 



any concessions ; both felt that war was inevitable ; and war 
was the result. It is interesting to note that at the time 
when these two western states were on the eve of a war which 
involved only a few square miles of territory, Alexander the 
Great had already carried his arms to the confines of India. 

At the very beginning of the war, Rome allied herself with 
the tribes of Apulia and Lucania in southern Italy, thus con- 



258 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

triving that the Samnites should be attacked from both sides 
at ouce. Then, while the Samnites were busy defending them- 
selves on the south, the Romans began the attack ; and, after a 
siege of more than a year's duration, Neapolis was taken. 

This siege is interesting chiefly because it brought about an 
essential change in the Roman constitution. Heretofore, no 
consul or other magistrate had ever exercised his authority for 
more than a year at a time ; but at the siege of Neapolis the 
issues involved were so important that the consul was con- 
tinued in command of the army, with the new title of Procon- 
sul, till the city was taken. Thus at the very beginning 
of her foreign wars, Rome evolved a system of military com- 
mand whereby her generals might not be hampered by the 
brevity of their term of office; thenceforward, in almost every 
important war, the consul of the year was continued in au- 
thority, with the title of proconsul and the full imperium, till 
the campaign was closed. 

After the fall of Neapolis, for several years, the progress of 

the war is obscured by legends of deeds of more than human 

262 Dis- prowess performed by the Romans. Then suddenly, in 

aster at 321 B.C., came a disaster so terrible that nothing in the 

Forks previous history of Rome except the Gallic invasion 

(321 B.C.) could compare with it, — the capture of the whole army 

and both consuls in the mountain passes between Campania 

and Samnium. The Samnite leader caused a rumor to be 

spread that a Roman colony in Apulia was in imminent 

danger. While hurrying to the relief of this colony, the 

entire Roman army was entrapped at the Caudine Forks 

and forced to surrender, almost without striking a single blow. 

The whole army was forced to march under the yoke, and 

was then dismissed ; the consuls escaped only by agreeing 

to a most humiliating peace. 

Amian Hi " ^^^^^ news of this calamity reached the city," says 

fr. 4 a Roman historian, '^ there was wailing and lamentation 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 259 

like a public mourning. The women mourned for those who 
had been saved in this ignominious way as for the dead. . . . 
Some of the returning soldiers took refuge in the fields for 
shame, others stole into the city at night." 

Justly or unjustly, the Senate refused to ratify the treaty 
which the consuls had made at the Caudine Forks, and the 
war dragged on in spite of the Samnite protests against the 
E-oman lack of faith. Not till six years later did the Romans 
seem to recover their spirit ; thenceforward, what the Samnites . 
had gained was gradually wrested from them, and by 311 b.c. 
none of the evil effects of the disaster of 321 b.c. seem to 
have remained. 

About this time, the Etruscans of the north began to stir 

once more. Eoman influence, thus far, had never extended 

beyond the Ciminian Forest, which lay in southern 263. Etrus- 

Etruria ; farther north were a number of cities with which ^^^ ^^™- 

paign of 
Rome had scarcely come in contact. Kow the armies of Fabius 

these cities moved south, and attacked the Roman out- Maximus 
posts in southern Etruria. At once, the consul for the year, 
Quintus Fabius Maximus, marched north, and in a few short 
months drove the Etruscans back beyond the Ciminian Forest, 
and completely overwhelmed them in their own country. Thus 
by this one short campaign, Roman influence was extended 
north as .far as the Apennine Mountains. Fabius might 
well be proud of his achievement. 

For six or seven years longer the struggle between the 
Romans and the Samnites dragged on, without any definite 
result, till in 304 b.o. both parties were ready to end „„ . e d of 
the war. By the terms of peace, Rome gained little the war 
that she had not possessed before the war; Samnium ^ 
was still intact and unconquered, and Roman territory still 
extended only to the foot of the mountains. Nevertheless, 
Rome was much better off than her enemy : she had recov- 
ered from the disaster at the Caudine Forks ; she had 



260 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

established her authority firmly on the borders of Samnium 

by her system of military posts; and, above all, she had 

extended her power into northern Etruria and across the 

mountains north into Umbria. 

The peace of 304 b.c. was scarcely more than a truce ; 

both sides went on preparing for the struggle that they felt 

265. Third was certain to break out again. In 298 b.c, envoys from 

Samnite towns in Lucania came to Rome and complained that 

war (298- ^ 

290 B.C.) the Samnites were invading their lands. Scarcely 

stopping to investigate, Rome took up the quarrel, and sent 
her armies into Samninm. By sending her army directly 
into the enemy's country, Rome showed that she had adopted 
a new plan of campaign. Previously, the struggle for suprem- 
acy had been fought out along the borders ; now the war was 
carried at once into the enemy's land. 

For the moment, the Samnites were completely confounded ; 
then their leader conceived a brilliant scheme for a counter 
attack, and resolved to make a bold dash through the moun- 
tain passes to the north, where ho could join his forces with 
those of the Etruscans, Umbrians, and Gauls, who were again 
in arms against Rome. In this attempt he was success. 
ful. When news came to Rome that all her enemies were 
joined in a single host in Umbria, even the boldest were 
dismayed. Still, the Romans rallied with courage and a 
dogged determination to win, no matter what the odds; 
every man who was in the least able to bear arms responded 
to the levy, and under the leadership of Fabius, who had 
defeated the Etruscans fifteen years before, the army moved 
north in 295 b.c. Battle was joined near Sentinum in Umbria. 
Before the armies met, the Umbrians and Etruscans had de- 
serted, and the Samnites and Gauls were left alone to fight 
against the Romans. Though the fight raged furiously for 
some time, though the colleague of Fabius was killed, and the 
army lost heavily in men, victory at last perched on the 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 



261 



standards of the Eomans, and the legions marched off the 
field in triumph. 

Five years longer the Samnites and their allies held out 
against the Eoman arms; but the struggle was hopeless, 
and in 290 b.c. peace was concluded, by which Eoman 
influence became supreme from the Apennines on the north 
to the Greek cities on the south. To the Samnites was left 
nominal liberty, but they were forced to acknowledge them- 




Remains of a Greek Temple at Ackigentum, Sicily. 



selves the allies of Eome, and to promise to take no action in 

future without the approval of the dominant city. 

Thus in the year 290 b.c. but one independent race was left 

in central and southern Italy outside the Eoman dominions, 

— the Greeks of the southern coast and Sicily. Among 266. Breach 

these Greeks, but little was left of the glory which had between 

' . Kome and 

marked their civilization a century earlier. One by one, Tarentum 

the cities had succumbed to the tyrants of Syracuse, to ^^^^ ^-^^ 
the conquering Sabellians, or to natural decay. Tarentum 
alone was still of first-class importance: her ships still plied 
the seas, her markets were still full of busy men ; but com- 
mercial glory had brought on political decay, and Tarentum 



262 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

was far from being a match for the vigorous republic of the 
north, when, in 282 e.g., a struggle began between the two 
powers. 

Eighteen years earlier, by a treaty with Tarentum, Rome 
had bound herself not to send the small fleet which she had 
gradually acquired, beyond the Lacinian cape, the western 
limit of the Bay of Tarentum. In 282 b.c. some Eoman ships, 
in violation of the treaty, entered the harbor of Tarentum with- 
out asking leave. Convinced that the Romans intended no 
good, the Tarentines fell upon the fleet, destroyed five of the 
ships, killed the admiral, and sold the sailors, whom they 
captured in the fight, into slavery. 

These indignities, offered to Roman citizens, were the signal 
for war, and the legions departed at once for southern Italy 
267. Taren- and Calabria. Tarentum, on her part, knowing that she 
Pvrrhus^for ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ match for Rome, sent an invitation to 
aid Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, asking him to come to her aid. 

Pyrrhus is one of the most interesting figures in Greek 
history after the death of Alexander. Of an extremely pre- 
possessing personality, high-spirited, and generous to a fault, 
he possessed a genius for military affairs of no mean order. 
For years he dreamed of making himself master of an empire 
which should approximate that of Alexander in size; but to 
him it seemed that his opportunity lay in the west. Hence, 
when the invitation of Tarentum came to him to join in the 
struggle against Rome, he was eager to accept the opportunity 
which the fates seemed to have thrown into his j)ath. In 280 
B.C. he crossed the Adriatic and landed in Italy with an army 
twenty-five thousand strong and several hundred elephants ; 
first he established his headquarters^ at Tarentum, and then he 
moved out to meet the foe. 

The battles which followed have more than ordinary interest. 
For the first time in history, the Roman legion was to meet 
the Macedonian phalanx ; the virtue of the Roman military 



11 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 263 

organization with its open order was to be pitted against the 

formation with which Philip and Alexander had won all their 

victories: if the legion coidd withstand the attack of 268. Bat- 

, . „„ ties of Her- 

the phalanx, Rome need fear no other enemies. Ihe aclea and 

two armies met for the first time near Heraclea in Ln- ^!f^^^^ 

(280 and 
cania. Though the Eoman legions stood their ground man- 279 B.C.) 

fully, though the phalanxes attacked in vain, the elephants and 

cavalry of Pyrrhus were too much for the Eomans, who were 

forced to retreat into Campania and Latium. 

Still, the victory was so dearly bought that Pyrrhus was 
ready to negotiate, and Cineas, of whom Pyrrhus used to say, 
"that he had taken more towns with his words than phaarch, 
Pyrrhus had taken with his arms," was sent to Rome to Pyrrhus 
offer terms of peace. The Senate, after a moment's hesitation, 
stoutly refused to treat unless Pyrrhus would consent to vacate 
his position in Italy, and therefore the war went on. 

Xext year, the armies met again; this time at Asculum in 
Apulia. Once again Pyrrhus was victorious, but " to one who 
gave him joy of his victory, he is said to have answered piutarch, 
that one more such victory would completely undo him." Pyrrhus 
Almost despairing of ultimate success, in spite of his two tri- 
umphs over the Romans, Pyrrhus retired into Tarentum to 
await further developments. 

The next two years he spent in Sicily, attempting to drive 
the Carthaginians out of the island. Since the days when the 
Syracusans defeated the Athenians, Sicily had been the £69. Sicil- 
prey of foreign foes and internal enemies. In the last i^^ affairs 
years of the fifth century B.C., the Carthaginians invaded the 
island and devastated it from end to end. Ultimately Sicily 
was saved by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, the most brilliant 
if the most cruel tyrant that Hellas ever produced. 

Dionysius ruled over much of Sicily and southern Italy for 
thirty-eight years (405-367 b.c). For thirty years longer Sicily 
remained in the hands of his descendants, till, in 337 b.c, 




the land was again set free by Timoleon, the Liberator, who 
came to Sicily from Corinth. Under him Sicily was at peace ; 
but after his death, misgovernment, anarchy, and Carthaginian 
invasions once again distracted the island. It was in the hope 
of remedying these conditions that Pyrrhus came. At first his 
efforts met with success, but dissensions among his Greek allies 
robbed him of all the fruits of his victories, and after two 
years of campaigning he was compelled to abandon the island 
and return to Italy. 

264 



-J 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 



265 



In 275 B.C., one year after liis return from Sicily, lie met the 
Romans in battle for the last time, at Beneventum in Sam- 
nium. Here the Eomans, who by this time had learned 

how to meet the attack of the phalanx and of the corps war (275- 

272 S C ^ 

of elephants, scored their first victory on an army for- ^'^'^ 

eign to Italian soil. After the battle, Pyrrhus, thoroughly dis- 
couraged, hurried back to his native country, never to appear- 
in Italy again. " Thus," says Plutarch, '' fell Pyrrhus from his 
Italian and Sicilian hopes. . . . Though unsuccessful in piutarch, 
his affairs, he preserved among all these misfortunes his Pyrrhus 
unconquerable courage; and for military experience and per- 
sonal valor and enterprise, he was 
held to be much the bravest of all 
the princes of his times ; only what 
he got by great actions, he lost 
again by vain hopes; and by con- 
stantly desiring what he had not, 
kept nothing of what he had." 

Three years after his departure 
from Italy (272 b.c), Tarentum fell 
into the hands of the Eomans, and 
the last independent power in Italy 
ceased to exist. Pome was now 
mistress of the peninsula from the 
Apennines on the north to the 
southern sea. 

It remains only to see how the 




territory which Pome now 
trolled was organized. All 
Italian states and their in- 
habitants were divided into 
two classes — citizens and 
eigners. Within each of 



con- 

271. Org-an- 

ization of 

conquered 

territory 

for- 

these 



classes, there was again a subdivi- 



266 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



sion. Citizens might be either cives Roinani or cives sine suf- 
fragio. The cives Eomani lived on the Ager Eomanus. They 
were members of one of the tribes, — of wliich there were now 
thirty-three, soon to be increased to thirty -five, — or residents 
in one of the Roman colonies, where they retained their full 
right of Eoman citizenship; in either case, they were privi- 
•legpd to vote in all the Roman assemblies, and had the further 




On the Appian Way. (Showing the remains of tombs.) 



precious possibility of holding a Roman magistracy. The cives 
sine suffragio (citizens without the franchise), as residents of 
specially favored towns or Latin colonies, were reckoned as 
Roman citizens in all their civil relations, but were excluded 
both from the Roman franchise and from the right of holding 
office. 

The foreigners or allies were also divided into two classes. 
"First there were the Latin towns, whose status was fixed by 



A HALF CENTURY OF ITALIAN CONQUEST 267 

the arrangements of 338 b.c. These towns were independent 
in all their internal affairs, but in their relations with each 
other and in relations with other towns, they were absolutely 
dependent upon the will of Rome. Second, there were the 
allied cities (civitates foederati) : states like those of Samnium, 
northern Etriiria, Umbria, and Magna Grsecia, each of which 
was bound to Kome by a separate treaty, which provided for 
mutual protection and aid. In one thing only did all these 
treaties agree : invariably, Rome reserved for herself absolute 
control over foreign affairs. Finally, from all classes alike 
Rome expected military service and absolute respect for Roman 
supremacy. 

It is during this period that Rome began to build that sys- 
tem of military roads which served to keep her in touch with 
every part of her dominions. Early in the third century b.c. 
the Via Latina (Latin Way) and the Via Appia (Appian Way), 
the main arteries of travel to the south, were completed ; and 
later many other roads of a similar character were constructed. 



Thus, in a period of fifty-five years, Rome had advanced 
from a position where she controlled a territory not more than 
a hundred miles square, to a position where she was mis- 272. Sum- 
tress of all Italy. In two wars, she stood opposed to "^^^^ 
the Samnites ; in the one, she was struggling to establish her 
borders firmly against her enemy, while incidentally she added 
to her domain the lands of northern Etruria; in the other, 
she succeeded in extinguishing the independence of her rival 
and of many other states besides. Then came the short and 
sharp struggle with the cities of Magna Graecia. For a time 
her legions were defeated by the phalanxes of Pyrrhus, a for- 
eign king, but the check was only temporary ; in the end, the 
Roman arms were victorious, and the city was mistress of the 
entire peninsula south of the Apennine Mountains. 

Of the whole epoch of two hundred and thirty-seven years 



268 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



since the establishment of the republic, no summary can be 

more perfect than these few words of the historian Mommsen : 

Mommsen, "There was no epoch of mightier vigor in the history 

Hist, of Qf ;Rome than the epoch from the institution of the re- 
Rome, bk.ii. 

ch. 8 public to the subjugation of Italy. That epoch laid 

the foundations of the commonwealth both within and with- 
out ; it created a united Italy ; it gave birth to the traditional 
groundwork of the national law and of the national history." 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Soiu>ces 



TOPICS 

(I) Enumerate the conquests made by Rome before 264 b.c, 
and show the status which was given to each. (2) Why was the 
office of proconsul necessary ? (3) Why was Rome victorious 
over the Samnites ? Why were the latter such formidable ene- 
mies ? Can you name any otTier races which have been hard 
to conquer for the same reason ? (4) Why did not the Greek 
mother country of Tarentum protect her against Rome as Rome 
protected her colonies against foreign invaders ? (5) Wliat is the 
Samnite country now called ? (6) What does the treaty between 
Tarentum and Rome show about Rome's commercial advance ? 
(7) What was the order of the phalanx ? (8) What were the real 
motives of Pyrrhus in undertaking his expedition to Italy ? (9) 
What was Pyrrhus seeking in Sicily ? (10) What reasons can 
you assign for Rome's failure to give to the conquered peoples full 
rights of citizenship ? 

(II) Livy's reputation as a historian. (12) Battle of the Cau- 
dine Forks. (13) Ought the Senate to have ratified the treaty of 
the Caudine Forks? (14) Pyrrhus in Greece. (15) Ancient 
opinion of elephants. 

REFERENCES 

See map, pp. 216, 217. 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xiv.-xvi. ; Shuckburgh, 
History of Borne, chs. xi. xii. xiv. xv. ; Mommsen, History of Borne, 
bk. ii. chs. vi. vii. ; Ihne, History of Borne, bk. iii. chs. iv. viii.-x. 
xii.-xvii. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. ii. ch. ii. ; 
Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Borne, ch. vi. ; 
Duruy, History of Borne, I. chs. xiv.-xvii. ; F. F. Abbott, Boman 
Political Institutions, ch. iv. 

Livy, bks. vii.-x., — Epitome, bks. xi.-xv. ; Appian, Foreign 
Wars, bks. ii. iii. ; Polybius, bk. ii. ; Plutarch, Lives, Pyrrhus ; 
Dionysius, bks. xv.-xx. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE CONQUEST OF TERRITORY BEYOND THE ITALIAN 
PENINSULA (264-221 b.c.) 

In the ninth century b.c, a group of Phoenician colonists 

from the city of Tyre settled on the promontory where Africa 

approaches nearest to Sicily, and called their city Car- 273. Growth 

thage. For several centuries these people, like all ofCartha- 

, r 1 7 ginian 

Phoenician (or, as the Eomans called them, Punic) colo- power 

nists, were content to live as tenants of the savage tribes about 
them; so long as they were allowed to trade in peace, they 
asked for no more land than was necessary for their depots 
and warehouses. Then came a time when conditions changed 
and conquests were undertaken. Northern Africa, with its 
mixed Phoenician and Libyan population, was the first to fall 
under the Carthaginian yoke ; next, the coasts of Spain and the 
islands of the sea: till in the whole western Mediterranean 
basin, no power existed to dispute the Carthaginian control of 
the sea, except the Greek cities of Sicily. 

Year by year the power of Carthage grew, till, in any 
struggle with a foreign nation, the city could bring to bear 
immense resources. Her citizens were endowed with great 
wealth, the result of their extensive commerce; the state 
had at its disposal the vast revenues which flowed into the 
treasury from the tributary nations, from customs duties, from 
the products of government mines, and from numerous colo- 
nies. In the field of war, the city was represented, first by 
an army drawn from among the citizens, second by troops 
levied in her dependencies, and finally by large bands of mer- 
cenaries hired among all nations. On the sea, the Carthaginian 
fleet was unrivaled by that of any power in the ancient world. 

269 



270 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Had healthy political conditions existed at Carthage, Rome 
as it came into contact with the African city would have been 
a pygmy beside this commercial giant. Even as it was, 
Rome seemed at first sight to have no chance in a struggle 
with Carthage. Her population was still scanty, her resources 
small, her allies few. What she lacked in visible resources, 
however, she made up in the vigor and determination with 




Rome and Carthage in 26i b.c. 



which her citizens served the state, and in the loyalty of her 
allies. The contest between the two cities finally came, not in 
Italy and not in Africa, but in Sicily, the ancient battle ground 
between eastern and western civilization. 

It is said that when Pyrrhus was leaving Sicily in 276 b.c, 
Plutarch, he exclaimed, "How brave a field of war do we leave, 

Pyrrhus friends, for the Romans and Carthasrinians to fight 
274. First ... » & 
Punic -war m.'' Back in the year 285 b.c. or thereabouts, some Cam- 
begins panian mercenaries, called Mamertines (sons of Mars), 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 



271 




Coin of Hiero. 



seized upon the city of Messana. In 265 b.c, these Mamer- 
tines, to escape the wrath of Hiero, king of Syracuse, called 
upon Rome to help them. When the envoys appeared in the 
Senate, the Fathers hesitated ; if they resolved to give aid, it 
would mean that Rome 
was ready to adopt an 
entirely new policy, that 
she was ready to take her 
place in the race for the 
control of the Mediter- 
ranean basin. Thus far 
no Roman had ever con- 
templated the possibility of interfering in affairs outside of 
Italy; Rome had been content to limit her political am- 
bitions to the complete control of the peninsula. Finally, 
the Senate shifted the responsibility upon the people; and 
the people at once decided upon the newer and broader policy, 
and resolved to send aid to the Mamertines. 

In 264 B.C., a Roman army moved south and took up its 
station at Rhegium, just across the strait from Messana. Mean- 
time the Mamertines had accepted the mediation of the 275. First 

Carthaginians; the trouble with Hiero was settled, and years of 

, war (264- 

the Carthaginians were in possession of the citadel. The 260 B.C.) 

Romans, however, refused to accept the situation ; by a series 

of maneuvers of a very questionable morality they succeeded 

in dislodging the Carthaginians and in gaining possession of 

the city. 

As might have been expected, Carthage at once declared war. 
For the first two years, the Romans prosecuted the war so 
vigorously that, by 262 b.c, the entire eastern part of Sicily 
was in their possession. In 263 b.c. even Hiero abandoned 
his alliance with Carthage, and thenceforth, to the day of his 
death, he was a stanch ally of Rome. 

Failing to maintain themselves in the eastern part of the 



272 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



island, the Carthaginians intrenched themselves at Agrigentnm, 
and in 262 b.c. the Eomans laid siege. The siege lasted 
Pohjbms, seven months, and then tlie city fell. " G-reat was the 
i. 20 joy of the Eoman Senate when the news of what had taken 

place at Agrigentnm arrived. Their ideas were now so exalted 
that they no longer confined themselves to their original 




Roman Ships. (Restoration.) 



276. 

ing of the 
navy 



designs ; . . . they now conceived the idea that it was possible 
to expel the Carthaginians entirely from the island." 

"Yet so long as the Carthaginians were in undisturbed 
command of the sea," Polybius goes on to say, "the bal- 
Build ^^^^^ ^^ success could not incline decisively in favor of 
the Romans." • A fleet must therefore be built. Un- 
daunted by their comparative ignorance of the sea, the 
Eomans set about the task with marvelous vigor. Using an 
abandoned Carthaginian galley as a model, they succeeded in 
putting a fleet of over a hundred ships on the sea in less than 
two years. 

To make up for their lack of skill in maneuvering these 



I 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 273 

ships, they hit upon an entirely novel idea in naval construc- 
tion : to the prow of each ship they fitted a revolving draw- 
bridge, so that from whatever direction they might be attacked, 
they could let this drawbridge drop on the deck of the oppos- 
ing ship, and then, by boarding, transform the battle into a 
hand-to-hand conflict on the enemy's deck. 

The Eoman fleet fought its first battle off Mylae, in north- 
eastern Sicily (260 b.c). The Carthaginians, in their supreme 
contempt for these Roman " landlubbers," neglected to take the 
most ordinary precautions, and in consequence they were com- 
pletely defeated. By this one engagement, the Eomans for the 
time being became masters of the Sicilian seas ; and the ad- 
miral, Duilius, was ever honored as one of the greatest heroes 
of the nation. 

For the next three or four years, the war dragged on with 
little of importance to mark its progress. Then, in 257 e.g., 
the cry, "On to xifrica," was taken up by every citizen 277. Inva- 
in Eome. Vast preparations were undertaken, and in ^^^(o^i 

256 B.C. an immense fleet set out from Sicily with Mar- B.C.) 

cus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso in command. 
The three hundred and thirty ships which represented the 
Eoman power, met and defeated the Carthaginian fleet which 
was waiting for them off Ecnomus, on the southern coast of 
Sicily. Thence the armada proceeded unmolested to Africa 
and landed just east of the city of Carthage. So confident of 
victory were the Eomans, that Vulso and a large part of the 
army were recalled to Italy before the campaign began. On 
the other hand, fear filled the hearts of the Carthaginians, and 
they were ready to make peace on any reasonable terras; but 
since Eegulus was obdurate and demanded absolute surrender, 
negotiations were broken off, and the Carthaginians prepared 
to meet the Eoman attack. 

During the winter, while Eegulus wasted his time, the 
Carthaginian army was reorganized; and in the spring the 



274 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Carthaginians took the field reasonably sure of victory. Battle 
was soon joined, and the legions, successful the summer before, 
were now utterly routed. Many perished on the field; many 
more were taken prisoners, among them Regulus himself ; only 
a remnant escaped to the sea, where they were rescued by a 
Eoman fleet. Thus the African expedition, which started with 
such brilliant prospects of success, ended in disaster, and the 
seat of war was again transferred to Sicily. 

Two years of fighting in Sicily passed without any decided 

successes on either side ; then, in 251 B.C., the Roman legions, 

278. Second led by Lucius Csecilius Metellus, routed the enemy before 

s*^V^f253- *^^ ^'^^^ ^^ Panormus, and once again Rome became mis- 

241 B.C.) tress of the resources of the island. 

The Carthaginians were now confined to the extreme western 
coast in Lilybseum and Drepanum. From these strongholds, 
the Romans tried in vain to dislodge them ; attack after attack 
was made till the Roman resources were almost exhausted. 
In 249 B.C. the consul Publius Claudius attempted to surprise 
the Carthaginian fleet off Drepanum, but was himself defeated. 
Had the Carthaginians adopted a vigorous policy and brought 
the immense wealth of the city to bear, they might yet have 
regained control of the island; but indolence and selfishness 
gained the day over valor, and both sides were content to let 
the war drag on. During the next eight years, the struggle 
never rose above a series of petty engagements in which neither 
side Avon or lost any decisive battle. 

One man alone stands out among the combatants as worthy 
of the name of a great general. This is Hamilcar Barca, the 
Carthaginian. Coming to Sicily in 247 e.g., he realized that 
his only hope of success lay in a sort of guerrilla warfare 
by which the Roman legions might ultimately be exhausted. 
He established himself upon two hills. Mount Eryx and Mount 
Ercte, in western Sicily, and for six years he kept up a series 
of raids, which drove the Romans to the verge of despair. 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 



275 



Unless something were done to check these attacks, the Komans 

felt that soon they must resign the island to the enemy. 

It was the patriotism of private citizens, and not the energy 

of the Senate, which saved Kome from disgrace. By private 

subscription, a fleet of two hundred ships was fitted out 279. Battle 

and sent to the western coast of Sicily. Before the Car- °^ -^gates 

•^ Islands 

thaginians were aware what had happened, the harbors of (241 B.C.) 

Lilybseum and Drepanum were blockaded, and the cities were 

vigorously besieged. In a vain endeavor to relieve the cities. 




Mount Ercte as seen from Palermo (the Ancient Panormus). 



the Carthaginians fitted out and manned a fleet. Heavily 
laden with supplies, and poorly manned, this fleet was met 
and completely defeated by the Eomans off the .Egates Islands. 
With their last fleet destroyed, with Lilyba?um and Drepanum 
lost, with no other forces in Sicily than those of Hamilcar, the 
Carthaginians realized that to continue the war was useless. 
"Thereupon," says Polybius, "Hamilcar acted the part 
of a gallant general and a sensible man. As long as 
there had been any reasonable hope of success, nothing was 
too adventurous or too dangerous for him to attempt. . . . 
But when all his endeavors miscarried, and no reasonable 
expectation was left of saving his troops, he jnelded to the in- 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. — 17 



Polybius, 
i. 62 



276 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



280.Eesults 
of first 
Punic war 



evitable and sent ambassadors to treat for peace and terms of 
accommodation." 

The terms of peace, in themselves, were simple. Carthage 
was to relinquish all claim to the island of Sicily, was to 

release all prisoners of war, and 

was to pay a large indemnity, 

sufficient to repay Rome for the 
cost of the war. Beyond this she was 
to be left in full possession of all 
her ancient rights and privileges. As 
yet there was no thought of curtail- 
ing the perfect independence of the 
city. 

The most important result of the 
war was the political lesson which it 
taught the Romans. Rome had en- 
tered into the war as a purely con- 
tinental power, with no definite 
thought of dominion beyond the sea. 
In the twenty odd years of war, her 
policy had so changed that the posses- 
sion of land beyond Italy seemed 
entirely natural. In a word, Rome 
had entered upon a career of conquest 
which, in the end, was to make her 
mistress of the ancient world. In the second place, the war 
had forced Rome to become a naval as well as a military 
power. Still, in spite of the brilliant victories of Mylse, 
Ecnomus, and the J^gates Islands, the Romans can not be 
said to have developed much skill as sailors. Neither now 
nor afterward was the Roman genius fitted for the sea; to 
the end of their history, the Romans disliked the sea and 
used, so far as possible, the ships of their maritime allies to 
fight their battles against foreign navies. 




Column to commemorate 
THE Battle of Myl^. 

Adorned with beaks of the 
captured ships. 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 277 

Following the ratification of the peace, the evacuation of 
Sicily began at once. The Carthaginian mercenaries, Libyans, 
Iberians, half-breed Greeks, the scum of the eastern and 281 Ac 
western worlds, scarcely set foot on African soil before quisition of 
they broke out into insurrection. Carthage was unable and Corsica 
to pay them their wages, and they proposed to take by (^38 B.C.) 
force what their masters denied them. From Africa the 
insurrection spread to Sardinia and Corsica, and before the 
revolt was quelled, the two islands were lost to Carthage 
forever. On the invitation of the natives, Eoman legions 
were sent across the Tyrrhenian Sea, and, though Carthage 
protested violently, in 238 b.c. both islands were annexed to 
the Eoman dominions. 

Rome now possessed three islands, Sicily, Sardinia, and 

Corsica, for which some form of government must be devised. 

In all her relations with the races of Italy, Rome had „«« „, 

'^' 282. The 

hitherto followed a uniform policy. First, the territory newprovin- 

was secured by planting military or maritime colonies, *^^^^ ^y^*®™ 
which prevented hostile uprisings. Next, large numbers of 
the inhabitants of Italy were incorporated directly into the 
body of Roman citizens with full rights of suffrage, or received 
the protection of Roman citizenship without the franchise. 
Finally, to many of the tribes which had supported Rome in 
her wars, the position of allies w^as granted ; that is, they were 
to retain their local freedom, though they owed to Rome the 
obligation of bowing to her will in foreign affairs and of con- 
tributing to the military force of the dominant city. 

After the conquest of Sicily and the annexation of Sardinia 
and Corsica, the Romans inaugurated an entirely new system : 
henceforward, the new countries added to the Roman dominion 
were organized as dependencies or provinces. Sicily became 
the first, and Sardinia and Corsica together formed the second 
Roman province. To each a governor was sent out each year 
with power more absolute in his province than that of the 



278 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 




consul at home : he was general of the army, civil magistrate, 
and supreme judge, all in one ; from his decisions there was no 
appeal. 

To the inhabitants of the provinces were accorded rights 
and privileges similar to those of the Italians, but in one way 
they were placed upon a scale much lower than the allies. 
From the inhabitants of Italy, Eome never required an annual 

payment as a sign of homage ; 

instead, they were allowed the 

dignity of furnishing levies 

for the Eoman army : from 

the provinces, on the other 

hand, Eome exacted a money 

Pirate Ship. tribute and rigorously sup- 

Ancieut vase painting. pressed all evidences of a 

military spirit. Thus the spirit of manhood sank rapidly 

in the provinces, while the inhabitants of Italy continued, 

for a long time to come, to be a military race. 

Meanwhile, trouble had been brewing for some time in the 
north and northeast. Beyond the Adriatic, in Illyricum, a 
283 Illvr • ^^^^ ^^ pirates had lived from time immemorial on 
ian war the plunder of ships of the Italian and Greek merchants. 
In 230 B.C. a direct appeal was made to Eome against 
this piratical race. Eome's interest strongly demanded that 
she abate this nuisance, for freedom of the sea was necessary 
for the prosperity of Eome's possessions on the coast and 
over seas; hence the war was undertaken without hesitation. 
In a single campaign, the Illyrians were reduced to submission. 
Eome asked for no territory ; freedom of trade and a guaranty 
against further depredations upon the commerce of the Adri- 
atic were the only concessions which the victors demanded, 
and these the vanquished gladly granted. 

Thus far in Eoman history, the northern boundary of Italy 
had been the southern slopes of the Apennine Mountains. In 



(230 B.C.) 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 279 

the interval between the first and second Punic wars, Eome 

succeeded in extending her authority to the southern slopes of 

the Alps. About 238 b.c. the Gauls, who had been quiet „„ . „ „. 
^ ' ^ 284. Gallic 

since the time of the third Samnite war, a half century -wars (238- 
before, again began to show signs of uneasiness. For- '^ 

tunately for the peace of Rome, the hostile tribes at that time 
turned upon each other and saved the city from serious trouble. 

Six years later (232 b.c), the tribune Gains Flaminius passed 
in the Comitia Tributa Plebis a law whereby a number of citi- 
zens should be settled in the territory which had been wrested 
from the Gauls of northern Umbria in the third Samnite war. 
When news of this proposed settlement reached the Gauls 
of the Po valley, they at once took alarm, justly fearing lest 
the Eomans should ultimately extend the same system of dis- 
tributiug land into their territory. For six or seven years, the 
Gauls were busy perfecting their organization; finally, in 
225 B.C., they marched into Etruria, advancing as far south 
as Clusium. At first they were successful ; but before long 
they were met and routed by a Eoman army at Telamon, on 
the western coast. Next year, the Romans resolved to invade 
the land of the Gauls. For two years an active campaign was 
conducted in the valley of the Po, and one by one the tribes 
were forced into submission. 

No definite organization of the territory was as yet under- 
taken, but under the leadership of Flaminius the land was 
secured by a series of colonies, and especially by the con- 
struction of the great military road, the Via Flaminia, which 
did for the north what the Via Appia and the Via Latina had 
done for the south. It kept the way into the Gallic country 
open for the Roman armies, and thus insured the city against 
further trouble from the hostile tribes. 



The history of the first Punic war may be summed up as 
follows. In its origin, the war was due to the clash of 



280 THE EAELY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

interests between partisans of Eome and Carthage in Messana. 
In the first four years of the war, the Eomans succeeded in 
285 Sum- driving the Carthaginians almost completely out of the 
mary island. In 260 B.C. the Eomans put their first fleet 

upon the water and under Duilius won the battle of Mylae. 
Four years later, Eegulus undertook the invasion of Africa; 
at first, success seemed about to erown his efforts, but in the 
end his carelessness cost the Eomans all that their earlier 
efforts had gained. In 253 b.c. the seat of the war was again 
transferred to Sicily, where the struggle dragged out its length 
for over ten years, relieved only by the victory of Metellus 
at Panormus, by the siege of Lilybseum, and by the brilliant 
guerrilla warfare of Hamilcar. In 241 b.c. came the climax of 
the war : off the ^Egates Islands the Eomans won so decisive 
a victory that the Carthaginians were forced to sue for peace. 
By the terms of the treaty, Carthage surrendered all claims to 
Sicily, returned all prisoners of war, and bound herself to pay 
a heavy indemnity. 

During the next twenty years Eome was busy, first in or- 
ganizing her two new provinces of Sicily and of Sardinia and 
Corsica; next in fighting a short war against the Illyrian 
pirates ; and finally in subduing the Gauls of the Po valley, 
thus extending her authority north to the Alps, the natural 
boundary of Italy. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) With what modern nation can you compare Carthage in 

264 B.C. ? (2) Did Rome have as much justification in undertak- 
ing the war in Sicily as she did in undertaking the Tarentine war ? 
(3) Why did Rome need a fleet in this war ? (4) What are the 
advantages of guerrilla warfare ? Can you give instances of its suc- 
cessful use in more recent times ? (5) What is the economic char- 
acter of those nations which maintain the most successful navies ? 
(6) Why were not the Romans a great naval power? (7) What 
do you think of Rome's attitude after the first Punic war ? 
(8) What were the weak points of the Roman provincial system ? 



topics 



CONQUESTS BEYOND ITALY 



281 



(9) Can you see any reason for the difference in the treatment of 
Carthage and of Illyria ? 

(10) The farthest extent of Carthaginian dominion. (11) Roman Search 
opinions of the Carthaginians. (12) Ancient remains in Sicily. *°P^cs 
(13) The taking by storm of Agrigentum. (14) Early Roman 
ships. 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 270. Geography 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xvii.-xx. ; Shuckburgh, Modern 
Histonj of Rome, chs. xvii.-xx. ; Mommsen, History of Borne, bk. authorities 
iii. chs. i.-iii. ; Ihne, History of Borne, bk. iv. chs. i.-vi. ; R. B. 
Smith, Carthage and the Cai'thaginians, chs. i.-ix., — Borne and 
Carthage, chs. i.-viii. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. iii. 
ch. i. ; Duruy, History of Borne, I. chs. xix.-xxii. ; F. F. Abbott, 
Boman Political Institutions, ch. v. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 2.3 ; Polybius, bks. i.-iii. ; Appian, Foreign 
Wars, bk. v. excerpts, 1, 2, bk. vi. chs. 1, 2 ; Livy, bk. xxi. ; Plu- 
tarch, Lives, Timoleon ; Diodorus, fragment of bk. xxv. Illustrative 

A. J. Church, The Story of Carthage. 



work 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR (219-202 b.c.) 



To make good the loss of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, after 

the close of the first Punic war, Carthage turned her arms 

against the half-civilized tribes of the Spanish peninsula. 
286. Hanni- ° , ^r ■, . . f ^ 

baltheman J^n'st under Hamiicar, and then under his son-in-]aM^ 

and the Hasdrubal, the Cartha- 

soldier 

ginian forces conquered 

that peninsula as far north as 
the river Ebro. When, in 
221 B.C., Hasdrubal was mur- 
dered, Hannibal, son of Ham- 
iicar, then twenty-nine years 
old, succeeded him as chief 
general. Devoted by his 
father from early childhood 
to eternal hatred of Rome, 
the young commander at once 
resolved to renew the war 
with the enemy of his native 
•city. 

Of Hannibal, it is difficult Hanxibal." 

, i.1 • J.1 0- • National Museum, Naples, 

to say anythnig that is ex- 

travagant : he stands with Cyrus, Alexander, and Csesar as one 

of the four greatest geniuses of antiquity. "Kever," says 

Livy, " was one and the same spirit more skillful to meet 

opposition, to obey, or to command. ... By no difficulties 

could his body be tired, or his ardor dampened. Heat and 

cold, he suffered with equal endurance. . . . He was by long 

282 




Livy, xxi. 4 



THE SECOND FUNIC WAR 283 

odds the best rider and the best marcher in the army. He 
went into battle first, he came out of it last." 

No difficulty which nature or man could put into his path 
ever affrighted him. His judgment was unerring as to the 
place where he should fight a battle and the odds which he 
could give with impunity ; his power of luring the enemy into 
the position which he" chose for battle seemed more than 
human. Furthermore, he possessed extraordinary discretion 
and at the same time a burning enthusiasm which endeared 
him to all his soldiers ; he mingled an exceptional amount of 
caution with an untiring energy. In battle, he was crafty, fond 
of the unexpected, a thorough master of all sorts of ambushes 
and surprises. In a word, he was, as the modern historian 
Dodge calls him, "the father of military strategy." That he 
maintained himself in an enemy's country alone and almost 
unaided for over fifteen years, as we shall see he did, is enough 
to attest the extraordinary quality of his genius. 

In 226 B.C., Hasdrubal had made an agreement with the 
Komans that the cities of Saguntum and Emporiae, Greek colo- 
nies on the east coast of Spain and allies of Eome, should 237 Beffin 
be saved from harm, and that no Carthaginian army should iiing of sec- 
cross the Ebro. Feeling certain that the Eomans were ^^r (219 
only waiting for a favorable moment to attack Africa, ^C-) 

Hannibal resolved to disregard this treaty, and if possible to 
capture Saguntum. More than a year he waited, perfecting 
his plans ; and then, before the Romans could move, he attacked 
the city and after a stubborn fight entered its gates. There- 
upon an embassy was hurried from Rome to Carthage with a 
demand that the state should repudiate the acts of Hannibal 
and indemnify Rome for the loss of Saguntum. Carthage 
refused, and the Romans at once declared war. 

Without waiting for the Romans to begin hostilities, Han- 
nibal resolved to abandon his base of supplies in Spain, and 
without relying on immediate aid from home, to march directly 



284 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

through Gaul into northern Italy. Here he expected to 

be joined by the Gallic tribes which Rome had conquered 

288 The ^^^* ^ ^^^ years before with an iron hand. Accordingly, 

march to he set forth from New Carthage in 218 e.g., leaving his 

^ ^ younger brother Hasdrubal in command in Spain, crossed 

the Pyrenees, and when Publius Cornelius Scipio, the Roman 

consul, landed at Massilia on his way to Spain, Hannibal had 

already reached the river Rhone. Scipio made a feeble 

attempt to stop the progress of his enemy ; but Hannibal 

avoided a battle by making a detour to the north. 

Publius then sent his brother, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, on 
to Spain with the larger part of . his army, and returned to 
Italy so as to block the way against Hannibal. Meanwhile 
the Carthaginians had crossed the Alps into Cisalpine Gaul, 
Pohjbhts, ^s the Po valley was called. "From the beginning of 
m. 55 iiig march, Hannibal lost many of his men. . . . The 

whole march from New Carthage occupied five months, the 
actual passage of the Alps fifteen days; and now he boldly 
entered the Po valley with such of his army as survived, — 
twelve thousand Libyans, eight thousand Iberians, and not 
more than six thousand cavalry." The facts are simple, but 
the deed is one of the most dramatic in all ancient history. 
In Cisalpine Gaul, as he had anticipated, Hannibal was 
joined by many Gauls. At the river Ticinus, he met the 
289. Battle Romans for the first time and easily defeated them. 
Trebfa^JlS ^^^P^^ ^^^ forced to fall back upon the river Trebia and 
B.C.) wait for his colleague Tiberius Sempronius. When Sem- 

pronius came up, he demanded that the army should attack 
Hannibal once more. Scipio demurred, but Sempronius had 
his way. Hannibal at once adapted his plans to meet the 
situation : first he allowed Sempronius to cross the river, and 
then, when he had enticed him into a position where the ad- 
vantage was altogether with the Carthaginians, he fell upon 
the Romans and defeated them. 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 285 

Hannibal was now master of northern Italy. When spring 

came, he set about accomplishing the next step in his plan. 

Crossing the Apennines, he marshaled his army in the 290. Battle 

plains of Etruria. Eluclinaj the consul Flaminius, the „ of Lake 
^ ^ ' Trasimenus 

man who had carried on the war against the Gauls (217 B.C.) 
several years before, he marched south, apparently on his way 
to Eome. Flaminius followed and came upon him in a narrow 
defile near Lake Trasimenus. Again the battlefield was exactly 
that which Hannibal had chosen : the Eoman army was com- 
pletely routed, and the consul paid for his lack of judgment 
with his life. 

When news of the battle reached Kome, the praetor in charge 
of the city contented himself with announcing, " We have Livy, 

been defeated in a great battle ! " The city was put in ^'^"'- ^ 

a state of defense, and a dictator, Quintus Fabius Maximus, 
called Cunctator (delayer) was appointed. 

The Romans, however, had no need to fear for the safety 
of their city. Hannibal knew very well that to attack a well- 
walled and well-defended city at the moment would „^, „. 

•^ 291. Dicta- 

mean nothing but disaster ; therefore he turned east torship of 

through Umbria and marched south by easy stages past Fabms 

the neighborhood of Rome to Apulia. Here he rested during 
the remainder of the summer, reorganizing his army, and doing 
all in his power to bring the Samnites and the tribes of south- 
ern Italy to repudiate their alliance with Rome. In this he was 
unsuccessful ; the treatment which Rome had accorded her 
allies since the close of the Italian wars had been so fair that 
not one abandoned the alliance which in earlier times had 
been sealed in blood. In Fabius, too, Rome found just the 
right man for the times. Of a most noble family, proud, 
self-conscious, tenacious of purpose, firm and deliberate in 
action, he resolved to refuse an engagement with Hannibal, 
no matter what the chances of success. By this policy, it is 
true, he gained no direct advantage for Rome ; but at least he 



286 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



and his coarse effrontery." 



saved the state from another disaster like Trasimenus, and 

at the same time gave the city time to recuperate after the 

fearful losses of the previous two years. 

In spite of their recent experiences, the Romans groaned 

under the inactivity which Fabius imposed upon them. In 

292. Battle the spring of 216 B.C., at the consular elections, though 

^i?o^n^ ^^'^^ nobles protested, though the danger from Hannibal 
(216 B.C.) 

Mommsen, was still present, the commons insisted upon the election 

Hist, of ^£ Gains Terentius Varro, "an incapable man who was 

bk. in. ch. 5 known only by his opposition to the Senate . . . who was 

recommended to the multitude solely by his humble birth 

Lucius ^milius Paulus, a man of 
noble family, tried in 
politics and in war, was 
elected as his colleague. 
The two consuls at 
once marched east into 
Apulia. Paulus appreci- 
ated the genius of his 
enemy, and advised cau- 
tion, but Varro, anxious 
to justify his election by 
a victory, rushed into 
battle almost as soon as 
he came upon Hanni- 
bal. For the third time, 
the battlefield. On the 
Cannae, the two armies 




Battle of Cann.e. 



Hannibal was allowed to choose 
river Aufidus, near the town of 
came into contact. The engagement was another Trasi- 
menus. Crossing the river, the Eomans moved into battle in 
spite of the vigorous protests of Paulus; what followed can 
scarcely be called a fight ; it was more like the slaughter of a 
Polyhius, herd of cattle by trained and intelligent butchers. Thou- 
iii. 116 sands of Romans were killed. " Paulus himself fell 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 287 

in the thick of the fight, covered with wounds : a man 

who, if ever a man did, performed his duty to his country." 

Yarro was saved to lead the remnant of his army back to 

Kome. 

" When the disaster was announced in the city, multi- Appian, 

tudes thronged the streets, uttering himentations for i^-^,,. ,. 

their relatives, calling on them by name, and bewailing 293. Re- 

suits of the 
their own fate as soon to fall into the enemy's hands. . . . battle 

The magistrates besought the gods by sacrifices and prayers 

that if they had any cause of anger they would be satisfied 

with the punishment already visited." 

The days which followed were the darkest which Rome 
had ever seen. Thus far, Hannibal had fought Rome prac- 
tically alone ; his victories had been due entirely to his won- 
derful military genius and to the fact that in each campaign 
Rome had had at least one incompetent general. The Romans 
had also suffered from the division between the commons and 
the Senate, which existed within the city itself. Now the 
hopes of Hannibal seemed about to be fulfilled ; many of the 
allies finally deserted the Roman cause, a,nd aid was promised 
from sources outside the peninsula. 

In her darkest days, Rome showed the fiber of which her 
citizens were made. In Carthage or in the kingdoms of the 
east, even in Athens, such a disaster as Varro had brought 
upon his city would have been punished with death ; in Rome, 
he was received as one who had done his best for his country, 
and therefore deserved the sincere thanks of the j)opulace. 
The defeat was accepted, and all classes resolved to strain 
every nerve to save the city from the impending ruin. Dif- 
ferences between the Senate and the populace were forgotten ;• 
an army was scraped together from all sources; and the further 
conduct of the war was intrusted to competent hands. Fabius 
was again placed in command, and with him was associated 
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a man of wide military experience. 



288 THE EARLY KOMAN REPUBLIC 

The two men were excellent foils for each other: where 
Fabius won victories for his country by refusing battle, Mar- 
cellus succeeded by taking long chances and by his indomitable 
energy. Heedless of his personal safety, inspired by a strong 
heart and the love of country, he was ready to meet the enemy 
wherever he found him, and had the skill to succeed. With 
two such leaders, Rome's fortunes began to revive. "The 
Plutarch. vigor of the one mixed with the steadiness of the other 
Fabius made a happy combination which proved the salvation of 

Eome." 

Nevertheless, for the moment, all things seemed favorable 

to the great Carthaginian commander. Capua revolted and 

294 H • op^^^^ ^*^ gates to the invader ; and the Samnites and 

bal's allies many other Sabellian tribes threw in their fortunes with 

^^ ^^ the conqueror. From across the Adriatic came the news 

that Philip Y., king of Macedonia, was ready to join in the 

hostile demonstration against Eome ; and in Sicily, just at 

this time, the death of Hiero was the signal for Syracuse to 

abandon the Roman alliance. If aid would only come to 

Hannibal from Africa and from Spain, no Eoman army could 

withstand this man, who for three years had opposed the 

republic with his sn:iall army of veterans and such recruits as 

he could gather in hostile Italy. 

It was the fortune of Rome and the misfortune of Hannibal 
that all these sources failed. Hope of ai'd from Carthage had 
to be abandoned because the oligarchs who were in control of 
the city declared that the war was of Hannibal's making, and 
that he must therefore fight it out alone. In Spain, as we 
shall see presently, Hasdrubal was held in check by a Roman 
army, so that he could render no assistance to his brother. 
Finally, Philip V. was involved in a war with the Greek states, 
and he, too, was prevented from sending any aid to his ally. 

In Sicily and Italy, meanwhile, all the energies of Marcellus 
and Fabius were devoted to stamping out the revolts which 




THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 289 

had followed the battle of Cannae. For three years (215- 

213 B.C.) both sides waited: Hannibal was still hopeful 

that aid might reach him from Macedonia, Carthage, 295. Mar- 

or Spain: the Romans were slowly recovering from the „. .?®^^^!i^ 
^ ' . JO Sicily (213- 

shock of three successive defeats. 209 B.C.) 

In 212 B.C. Marcellus began a vigorous siege of Syracuse. 
Here the sturdy qualities of the " Sword of Rome," as he was 
called, showed to great advantage. Hold- 
ing on with dogged determination till the 
city was exhausted, he finally entered its 
gates and punished its citizens for their 
defection from Rome. In two years more 
all Sicily was again completely in the power 

of Rome. 

Marcellus. 

In Italy, where Hannibal was constantly 

to be reckoned with, the peculiar talents of Fabius showed 

to equal advantage. For four years he refused to engage 

in battle, and then, when Hannibal was absent in southern _. . _. 

' ' 296. Siege 

Italy, he suddenly began the siege of Capua, which had and capture 
been the center of all the disaffected Italian tribes, a zeal- ° ^^^^ 
ous ally of Hannibal, and a constant menace to Rome. Hanni- 
bal hastened to the relief, but his efforts to raise the siege by 
direct attack proved useless, and therefore he resolved to 
make a demonstration against the city of Rome. Though he 
scarcely hoped to take the city, he expected by this demon- 
stration to draw the besieging army from before Capua. This 
hope was speedily shattered; the Roman reserves success- 
fully opposed his advance, and nothing was accomplished. In 
211 B.C. Capua fell. Fearful was the punishment meted out to 
the city : death or slavery was the lot of almost every citizen ; 
scarcely one stone was left standing on another within the 
walls. The fate of Capua should be, the Romans declared, 
a perpetual warning to all allies that treachery to the imperial 
city was an unpardonable crime. 



290 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



297. The 
war in 
Spain 



The fall of Capua really marks the end of Hannihal's hopes 
in Italy. For two years more he fought in vain to save Taren- 
tum from ruin ; but in 209 b.c. that city, too, fell before the 
Eoman arms, and nothing was left for Hannibal but to retire 
into Bruttium to wait for reenforcements from his brother 
Hasdrubal in Spain. 

In the nine years that Hannibal had been in Italy, war had 
been going on continuously in Spain. For six years Publius 
and Gnaeus Scipio 
had kept Hasdru- 
bal so busy that 
he was unable to send 
the reenforcements which 
his brother so sorely 
needed. In 211 b.c, he 
finally succeeded in en- 
trapping the brothers, and 
before they could turn 
to help themselves their 
army was cut to pieces 
and they themselves were 
killed. 

Fortunately for Eome, 
Capua had just fallen, so 
that forces could be hur- 
ried to Spain to retrieve 
the defeat. Before the end of the year, Publius Cornelius 
Scipio, son of the Publius who had been killed, was sent out 
to take command. Oi this younger Scipio we shall hear more 
later; for the present it is sufficient to say that he set out 
for Spain surrounded by all the glamour of a great family 
name, a handsome presence, extreme youth, and 'full confi- 
dence in himself, and followed by the interest which people 
naturally take in a son who goes out to avenge his father. 




Publius Cornelius Scipio. 
National Museum, Naples. 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 291 

Scipio speedily achieved such success in Spain as justified 
the Komans in the high hopes which they had placed in his 
selection. In 209 b.c. he captured New Carthage, and thus 
deprived Hasdrubal of his base of supplies. Next year, how- 
ever, he allowed Hasdrubal to elude him, and to cross the 
Pyrenees on his way to reenforce Hannibal, who was waiting 
for him in Bruttium; but with Hasdrubal out of the way, 
Scipio soon subdued the rest of Spain, and in 206 b.c. returned 
to Italy, happy in the consciousness that he had conquered the 
European stronghold of Carthaginian power. 

When news that Hasdrubal had crossed the Alps spread 
through Italy, terror seized upon the people: the lion of 
Africa was not dead, he was simply resting in southern 298. Battle 
Italy ; and if his brother succeeded in making a junction °^J^l "^®^ 
with him, the whole of Italy might once more become (208 B.C.) 
his prey. Marcus Livius and Gains Qlaudius Nero were 
consuls for the year ; Nero was sent south to watch Hannibal, 
while Livius went north to oppose the advance of Hasdrubal. 
A messenger bearing tidings of Hasdrubal's position fell into 
the hands of Nero, and he at once resolved to abandon his 
position in front of Hannibal and march north to join 
his colleague, leaving only enough men behind to watch the 
camp of Hannibal. When the two consuls met they resolved 
to force Hasdrubal into battle, and the issue was joined on the 
banks of the river Metaurus in Umbria. Hasdrubal fought 
stubbornly, but fortune was with the Romans, and the Car- 
thaginian was defeated ; his forces were scattered, and he him- 
self was killed. 

Nero hastened back to his army in the south, lest Haiuiibal 

should become aware of his absence. The news of the victory 

in the north he brutally conveyed to his enemy by 299. End 

throwing the bloody head of Hasdrubal into the Car- of Hanm- 

^ "^ bal's inva- 

thaginian camp. Hannibal's grief is fitly described by sion 

the Roman poet Horace : — 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 18 



292 THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Horace, " To Carthage ne'er again shall I 

^^es, iv. 4 Send heralds proud of victory ! 

Our swelling hopes, our lofty fortunes fall, 
Destroyed with thee, unhappy Hasdrubal." • 

Hannibal, who had advanced into Lucania, again retired 
into Bruttium. In 206 b.c. Scipio returned from Spain; next 
year he v^as elected consul, and resolved to carry the war into 
Africa. Two years later (203 e.g.), Hannibal was recalled 
j^l^y^ from Italy. '' It is said that when Hannibal heard the 

XXX. 20 message of the ambassadors, he gnashed his teeth, groaned, 

and scarcely refrained from shedding tears. . . . 'Hannibal 
hath been conquered,' he said, ' not by the Eoman people, who 
have been so often slain and routed, but by the Carthaginian 
Senate, through envy and distraction.' " Thus failed Han- 
nibal's invasion of Italy. For over five hundred years no 
other general ever ag^-in came so near to crushing the power of 
Rome. 

After an absence of thirty-six years, the Libyan lion stood 
once more upon his native soil. The armies of Scipio and 

o«« T> a..-, ' Hannibal met at Zama, many miles southwest of 
300. Battle ' 

of Zama and Carthage. The troops in the camps on the eve of 
f202^?C^) battle felt that a final crisis had come. "Before to- 
Lhnj, morrow night, they said, they would know whether 

Rome or Carthage was to give laws to the world ; not 
Africa nor Italy, but the whole world would be the prize 
of victory." When the battle was joined, the victor of a 
hundred fields in Italy was defeated by the Roman general ; 
Trebia, Trasimenus, and Cannse were avenged. 

Peace between the two cities speedily followed. In the 
main, the terms were as follows : Spain and the islands of the 
western Mediterranean were to be ceded to Rome ; Carthage 
was to pay a war indemnity ; Numidia — the kingdom west of 
Carthage — was to belong to Massinissa, who had aided Rome 
in the African war; Carthage was to destroy the larger 



XXX. 32 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 293 

part of her fleet, and henceforth to be subject to Rome in all 
her foreign relations. 

The results of the war were twofold. Beyond Italy, Rome 
was now mistress of the entire western Mediterranean, with 
four provinces — Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hither ^^^ ^^ 
Spain, and Farther Spain. In Africa, Carthage and suits of the 
ISTumidia were completely under the power of Rome. 
Rome had also advanced to the position of arbiter in the 
affairs of the entire Mediterranean basin. 

Though outside Italy the war resulted in the glory of the 
Roman name, in Italy its effects were wholly bad. Fifteen 
years of campaigning ruined thousands of Italian farmers, and 
the prosperity of Italian agriculture was forever gone. Then, 
too, the revolt of so many allies, and the subsequent punish- 
ments, destroyed the good feeling which had previously existed 
between Rome and the dependent commimities. From a posi- 
tion of comparative independence and equality many of the 
allies had sunk to a position of absolute dependence, to a 
position where Rome regarded them as subjects, almost as 
slaves. 



The second Punic war lasted seventeen years. It began when 
Hannibal took Saguntum (219 b.c.) ; it ended with the battle 
of Zama (202 b.c). In the first years, Hannibal rapidly 302. Sum- 
overran Italy,- defeating the Romans successively at ^^^y 

Trebia, Trasimenus, and Cannae. After Cannae, Hannibal 
seemed about to realize his hopes, but one by one his sources 
of aid failed him ; while Rome, on the other hand, found new 
strength, first in Fabius and Marcellus, and then in the 
younger Scipio, later called Scipio Africanus. First the 
Romans quelled the revolt in Sicily, and then took Capua, 
the center of the revolt in Italy. In Spain, Hasdrubal was 
held in check by Publius and Gnaeus Scipio; and after they 
died, by the younger Publius Scipio. In 208 b.c, Hasdrubal 



294 



THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC 



eluded Scipio and crossed the mountains into Italy, only to be 
defeated by Livius and Nero at the river Metaurus. For four 
years more Hannibal maintained himself in Bruttium, then he 
was recalled by the Carthaginian senate, to oppose Scipio's 
forces in Africa. At Zama, Hannibal was defeated, and Scipio 
earned the title Africanus. Then followed the peace, by which 
Rome gained control of the entire western Mediterranean, and 
became the arbiter of the entire Mediterranean basin. Hence- 
forth, the history of Rome is the history of the ancient world. 




100 200 300 400 



Rome and Cakthage in 201 b.c. 



Sugrgrestive 
topics 



TOPICS 

(1) Was there anything in the past conduct of Rome to justify 
Hannibal's action in taking Saguntum ? (2) From a study of the 
maps and the text, to what do you think Hannibal owed his success? 

(3) Why did not Hannibal march directly on Rome after Cannse ? 

(4) How could a great city like Syracuse keep itself supplied for a 
siege of two years ? (5) Show all the causes which contributed to 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 



295 



Hannibal's failure to conquer Italy. (6) Were Rome's gains in 
the second Punic war greater than her losses ? (7) To what later 
trouble do you think Hannibal's occupation of Italy led ? (8) 
If Carthage had conquered Rome, how would the world's history 
have been different ? 

(9) Look up the history of Carthage from 241 b.c. to 220 b c 
m one of the histories mentioned below. (10) Description of a 
cohort. (11) Hannibal-'s crossing of the Alps. (12) Why were 
the Romans beaten at Lake Trasimenus ? (13) Battle of the 
Metaurus. (14) Battle of Cann^. (15) Hannibal's winter at 
Capua. 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 270, 294. 

How and Leigh, History of Rome, chs. xxi. xxii. ; Shuckbur-h 
History of Rome, chs. xxii.-xxv. ; Mommsen, History of Rome 
bk. m. chs. iv.-vii. ; Ihne, History of Rome, bk. iv. chs.'viii. ix • 
R. B. Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, chs. x.-xviii ~ 
Borne and Carthage, chs. ix.-xvii. ; T. Arnold, Life of Hannibal • 
Dodge, Hannibal; Morris, Hannibal; How, Ha'nnibal ; Pelham' 
Outlines of Roman History, bk. iii. ch. i. ; Duruy, History of 
Borne (I. IL), chs. xxiii.-xxv. ; F. F. Abbott, Roman Political 
Institutions, ch. v. 

Polybius, bks. iii. viii. ix.-xi. xiv. xv. ; Appian, Foreiqn Wars, 
bk. vi. chs. 3-7, bk. vii., bk. viii. chs. 1-9 ; Livv, bks. xxi.-xxx • 
Plutarch, Lives, Fabius, Marcellus ; Diodorus, fragment of bk' 
XX vi. 

G. A. Henty, The Young Carthaginian; D. Osborne, The 
Liangs Brood. 



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topics 



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Modern 
authorities 



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works 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

HELLAS FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER TO THE 
ROMAN CONQUEST 

We have now seen how the Eoman state grew from a village 

on the banks of the Tiber to an empire comprising the entire 

western Mediterranean world. Let us return, for the time, 

303. Ar- to the history of the Macedonian empire after the death 

rangements of Alexander. The unexpected death of the erreat Mace- 
after Alex- 
ander's donian was especially unfortunate, because there was no 

death q^^q great enough to assume control of his enormous 

empire. Alexander left no direct heirs, and in the army, 
though there were a score of men whose capabilities fitted 
them to govern, there was none who could assume supreme 
control. Hence the empire at once became the prey of 
numerous scheming and unscrupulous men. For the moment, 
a compromise was effected : by an agreement entered into 
among the generals, the crown of the dead king was be- 
stowed upon the imbecile Philip Arrhidseus, a half brother of 
Alexander, subject to the superior claims of a male heir, 
should such be born to Koxana, wife of Alexander. 

Meanwhile, the government was apportioned among the real 
rulers of the empire, the generals of the army. To Perdiccas 
was given the title and authority of regent and guardian of the 
prospective heir. To the others, as governors, were assigned 
the various provinces ; and to each of them was allotted a por- 
tion of the army, which he should absolutely control. Thus, 
at the very beginning, the organization of Alexander was dis- 
regarded. Instead of provinces in which civil and military 
authority were skillfully divided, the old Persian system of 

296 



I 



HELLAS AFTER ALEXANDER'S DEATH 297 

satrapies was revived, with this difference, however : among the 
satraps there had never been a man, with the exception of 
Cyrus (p. 185), who had dared to aspire to central authority ; 
among the lieutenants of Alexander, almost every one hoped in 
time to gather to himself the supreme control of the empire. 

The politics of Greece in this epoch once more deserve atten- 
tion. When Alexander set out for the east, he left Antipater 
in Macedonia and Greece as regent. Scarcely was his 304. Politi- 
back turned on Europe when disastrous intrigues began ^ions in 

once more. Emboldened by the absence of the kins:, Sparta Greece 

(324-322 
actually tried to wrest the Peloponnesus from the hands b.c.) 

of Antipater; but the attempt failed. So lightly did Alex- 
ander regard this matter, that when news of the insurrection 
reached him in Asia, he exclaimed, " Macedonians, while Phaarch 
we were conquering Darius out here, there seems to Agesilaus 
have been some battle of the mice in Arcadia." 

Demosthenes, of course, was still violently opposed to the 
rule of the Macedonian, and did all in his power to keep the 
fires of opposition burning brightly in Athens. In his zeal, he 
did not scruple even to accept bribes from Alexander's dis- 
graced treasurer, who appeared in Athens in 324 b.c. to stir 
up trouble for his former master. The Athenians, however, 
refused to be parties to the acts of Demosthenes, and in the 
same year he was driven into exile. 

The next summer, when the news of Alexander's death 
reached Greece, revolts instantly broke out. Several of the 
cities, led by Athens, entered into a confederation and go5 Th 
raised an army for the purpose of expelling Antipater. Lamian 

At first, Antipater was forced to fall back into the town ^^^ 

of Lamia in Thessaly, where he intrenched himself and stood 
a vigorous siege. Success seemed about to crown the hopes 
of the Greeks. All Athens was jubilant; Demosthenes, who 
had aided in stirring up the Peloponnesus to revolt, was re- 
called and entered the city in triumph. 



298 SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

The rejoicing was short-lived. In resisting a sortie, Leos- 
thenesj the Greek commander, was killed ; reinforcements soon 
came to the assistance of Antipater ; the siege was raised, and 
the Greek states, one by one, were forced to sue for peace. 
Athens, as the leader in the revolt, was severely punished. 
Antipater demanded that the orators who had stirred up the 
trouble should be delivered up for punishment ; that the con- 
stitution should be so revised as to exclude from the franchise 
the lower classes, upon whom the orators depended largely 
for support ; and finally, that the city should receive a Mace- 
donian garrison. To escape the wrath of Antipater, the 
orators fled from the city, but in vain : they were hunted out, 
and either killed or forced to commit suicide. Among the 
others, Demosthenes perished in the Peloponnesus. 

In the east, affairs were again approaching a crisis. Perdic- 

cas, the regent, was killed by his own troops in 321 b.c, and a 

306. Alex- new arrangement of imperial affairs became necessary. 

empire to Antipater was made regent, Philip Arrhida3us and the 

302 B.C. infant son of Alexander were given into his hands, and 

another division of the spoils was made among the generals. 

Once more provinces were distributed, ancient kingdoms were 

divided and reorganized, and human beings were moved about 

like pawns upon a chessboard. That auything permanent 

could come of this division was scarcely to be expected; 

indeed, the very men who were parties to the reorganization 

felt that whenever 023portunities for aggrandizement offered, a 

new struggle would surely follow. 

To trace the open fights, the secret intrigues, the marriages, 
the murders, the bargaining and trading, of the next ten or 
twenty years would serve no purpose. During those years, 
Antigonus emerged as the leading statesman among the gen- 
erals. Supported by his son Demetrius, he hoped ultimately 
to make himself the supreme ruler in the empire. In his 
schemes, he was opposed by four others : Ptolemy, ruler of 




HELLAS AFTER ALEXANDER'S DEATH 299 

Egypt ; Lysimachiis, ruler of Thrace and northern Asia Minor ; 

Cassander, ruler of Macedonia and Greece ; and Seleucus, who 

:;r~ ^'"^-^^^ aspired to rule in Asia Minor and the 

east. 

In 302 B.C., the final struggle began. 

Antigonus and Demetrius were caught 

unprepared; and Ptolemy, Lysi- 307. Final 

raachus, C'assander, and Seleucus A^^^^i?^;° 
' ' tne empire 

combined and declared war. (301 B.C.) 
jMeanwhile the young son of the con- 
queror had been killed ; no heir any 
longer existed, and consequently the result of this war would 
probably be the final division of the empire. 

The hostile forces met at Ipsus, in Phrygia. Antigonus and 
Demetrius were defeated, and the empire was divided among 
the four conquerors (map, p. 300). Ptolemy, who had held 
Egypt since 323 b.c, was confirmed in his kingdom ; Cassander 
was to become king in Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, in 
Thrace and Asia Minor; and Seleucus, in Syria and the prov- 
inces of the east. This was the final division of the empire ; 
henceforth, for a century and a half, ancient history in the east 
runs its course along the lines marked out after the battle of 
Ipsus. Of the kingdoms, three were permanent establish- 
ments ; the realm of Lysimachus alone went to pieces, owing 
to an invasion of Gallic tribes who made their way across 
the mountains from central Europe and devastated Thrace and 
Asia Minor. Thrace relapsed into a state of semi-barbarism, 
and Asia Minor was divided into a number of small kingdoms 
and republics, remotely dependent upon the kings of Syria 
and the east. The further political history of the Hellenic 
kingdoms offers but little interest ; for the next century or 
more, they continued as separate entities ; and then the hand 
of the universal conqueror, Kome, was laid upon them. 

If this century and a half was a period of comparatively 



HELLAS AFTER ALEXANDER'S DEATH 301 

little significance politically, its importance in the history 

of civilization can scarcely be exaggerated. For six or eight 

centuries the Greeks had been developing their civiliza- 3O8. Dis- 

tion within the narrow bounds of Hellas : now the de- semination 

of Hellenic 
scendants of those who fought in the armies of Alex- culture 

ander and his successors were spreading that civilization 

throughout the east; Hellas was educating the world. 

In Greece proper, the ancient culture continued to develop 
under the leadership of Athens, as of old. Art, and especially 
literature, continued to flourish with little diminished power. 
In Macedon and Thrace, conditions were such that Greek cul- 
ture could have but little permanent effect, for the people 
clung to their ancient habits of life with such tenacity that 
great progress was impossible. In western Asia and Egypt, 
however, the effect of Hellenic culture was most profound. 

In the kingdom of Seleucus, the introduction of Hellenic 
culture had most far-reaching results, because the population 

was such as to make g^g ^j^^ 

the kingdom of the new cities 

, 1 J. of Asia 

most conglomerate 

sort. Persian and Greek, 
Jew and Macedonian, Phoe- 
nician and Gaul, here met 
Coin of Seleucus. on common ground. The 

eastern provinces, bordering on India, soon lost their political 
connection with the provinces of the west ; but trade relations 
with the east were still continued, and as a result civilization 
gained. 

In such a kingdom, political organization was, of necessity, 
very loose. Most of the cities owed to the king only a nominal 
allegiance, and therefore were free to develop along lines 
hitherto unknown in Asia. Indeed, it is these cities which 
are the glory of the kingdom of the Seleucidae. Stretching in 
a line from the ^gean to the confines of India, Ephesus, Tar- 




302 SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

sus, Antioch, Damascus, Babylon, and a hundred other places 
studded a route along which flowed much of the activity of 
the ancient world. Established by Alexander and his suc- 
cessors as centers of trade and military supremacy, they 
proved to be most potent factors in the spread of Hellenic 
civilizatioD. Though the majority of the inhabitants were 
Asiatics, the nucleus of the population was Greek and Mace- 
donian ; and from that nucleus the Asiatic learned to know and 
appreciate the younger civilization. 

Furthermore, these cities far surpassed the cities of Greece 
proper in material resources and comforts. Situated as they 
were on the great trade routes, drawing their revenues from 
traders and travelers, they found nothing too costly for their 
citizens. In the old days, the wealth of a city had been 
devoted largely to the construction of public works ; now, 
however, men learned to care for their personal comfort before 
everything else, and consequently the residences of nobles and 
commoners alike were constructed with a view to making them 
models of comfort and of artistic beauty. Skilled architects 
were employed, and everything was done to make the cities 
attractive. The streets were well paved, imposing colonnades 
and extensive parks were built for the people, spacious market 
places were provided for the merchants, and commodious 
public buildings were constructed. From town to town good 
roads made communication easy ; along the highways, the 
traveler found decent inns for his entertainment ; withiu 
the gates, officers for the protection of his rights. In short, 
western Asia had grown to be a cosmopolitan country under 
the impetus of those Hellenes who had expatriated themselves 
to become citizens of the world. 

Though the cities of Asia best exemplified the spread of 
310. Alex- Greek culture, the queen of all the post-Alexandrine 
new"enter ^^^^^^ ^^s Alexandria in Egypt. Situated at the mouth 
of the world of the Nile, with harbors looking both to the east and to 



HELLAS AFTER ALEXANDER'S DEATH 



303 



the west, it speedily took the place of Tyre and Sidon. In its 
harbor and in its markets the trader from the remote east met 
and bargained with the 



5 5*0 1 000 1500 21)00 YABDS « E ^ -^ SEA 




Lake Mareotis 



Alexandria. 



merchant from the equally 
remote west. Here the tin 
and silver of Spain, the 
amber and furs of the 
Baltic, were exchanged for 
the gems and drugs of 
India and the silks and 
spices of China. Wealth 
rolled in and civilization 
flourished. 

The city likewise became the seat of the most advanced 
learning. Scholars and literary men flocked thither and were 
maintained at the king's expense. These men of learning, 
living together in the Museum, a series of buildings which 
corresponded roughly to one of our modern universities, pur- 
sued their studies and contributed much to the world's knowl- 
edge, in literature, in the arts, and especially in science. 
Furthermore, the kings established at Alexandria a library on 
whose shelves were deposited, so it was said, a copy of every 
work which had ever been written by any Greek. 

From the east, let us turn once more to Greece. The 
political destinies of the Greeks were now led, not by Athens 
and Sparta, but by two leagues composed of peoples 311. The 
hitherto unimportant in Greek affairs. In central Greece, a«(jA h ^^ 
the ./Etolians, a fierce people of the western mountains, leagues 

had gradually organized themselves into a confederation for 
protection and for aggrandizement. Of the history of this 
league we know little ; one fact only is certain : at one time or 
another it embraced most of the cities of central Greece, and 
even many of the cities in the islands of the ^gean. 

Of the other league, we have more definite information. In 



304 SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

earliest times there had existed among the cities of Achaia a 
religious union ; about 284 b.c. this league was revived, and in 
course of time a definite political constitution was developed. 
Each city was entitled to a representative at a general council 
which met twice a year. In the interval between the meetings 
the affairs of the league were intrusted to a board of magis- 
trates with a president-general at its head. For almost forty 
years the league played but little part in the politics of the 
land ; then suddenly, under the leadership of Aratus of Sicyon, 
it assumed a most important role. 

Down to the middle of the third century, Sicyon had been 
in the hands of tyrants. In 251 b.c, Aratus, by a bold stroke, 

312. Ara- drove the tyrants forth and set up a liberal government. 

tus, presi- A year or two later, he persuaded his fellow-citizens to 

dent of the ^ 

Achaean join the Achaean League, and by 245 b.c. he was the 

^oJf^ooi leading spirit in the confederation. Of Aratus, Polyb- 

(345-221 

B.C.) ius, the historian of this period, says : " He had many 

Polybius, of the qualities of a great ruler. He could speak, and 
contrive, and conceal his purposes : no one surpassed him 
in the moderation which he showed in political contests, or in 
his power of attaching friends and gaining allies : in intrigue, 
stratagem, and laying plots against a foe, he was preeminent. 
... On the other hand, whenever he attempted a campaign 
in the field, he was slow in conception and timid in execution 
and without personal gallantry in the presence of danger.'* 
Under Aratus, the league prospered. Within a few years, 
Corinth, Megara, and most of the cities of the Peloponnesus 
were brought within the union ; only Sparta held aloof. 

In Sparta, important political changes were taking place. 

Plutarch, " When the love of gold and silver had once gained ad- 

^^^ mittance into Lacedsemon " says Plutarch," it was quickly 

313. Revo- 'J ' ^ J 
lution in followed by avarice and baseness of spirit, and by luxury, 
Sparta effeminacy, and prodigality in the use of wealth. Then 

Sparta fell from her former virtue and repute, and so remained 



HELLAS AFTER ALEXANDER'S DEATH 305 

till the coming of Agis." This king Agis, who ascended the 
throne in 244 b.c, proposed to the Spartans wholesale reforms: 
especially the redistribution of wealth, and the reenforcement 
of the constitution, which had long since fallen into disuse. 
Against these propositions, the wealthy Spartans rose as one 
man, and in 240 b.c. Agis was put to death. Some fifteen 
years later, however, Cleomenes, who had married the widow 
of Agis, succeeded in carrying out the reforms which Agis had 
designed. 

With the rejuvenated Spartan state to support him, Cleom- 
enes now proposed to make Sparta once more the leading 
city in the Peloponnesus. Against his schemes, Aratus 314. War 
arrayed himself with all his might. Once and again, oetween 
Cleomenes overcame the opposition of Aratus, till noth- and Aratus 
ing remained for the Sicyonian but to appeal to the king of 
Macedonia. The king, Philip V., was most willing to inter- 
fere; Avith a strong army he marched into the Peloponnesus, 
and in 221 b.c. completely defeated Cleomenes at Sellasia. 
Beaten in battle, Cleomenes fled to Egypt, where he finally 
died, lamenting the fate of his country. 

Again, the Macedonian was supreme south of Thermopylae. 
In every part of Greece, evidences of extreme political decay 
were to be seen. Athens had long since ceased to play any 
part in politics, Sparta was again crushed, and though the 
^tolian League was still powerful, its influence also had 
begun to wane. Throughout the land, all eyes were turned 
to the west, where Rome was steadily looming larger and 
larger on the horizon. 

Briefly, the century after the death of Alexander is marked 
by the following events. In the first place, the empire which 
Alexander had built was completely disrupted in the 3^5 3^jjj_ 
course of fifty years. Out of it grew three or four less mary 

important kingdoms. In these kingdoms, especially in Syria, 



306 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 



and in Egypt at Alexandria, Hellenism traveled on to a much 
wider and more cosmopolitan civilization. In Greece, the 
people gradually rallied to a new independence under the 
leadership of the J^^tolian and Achaean leagues. In the Pelo- 
ponnesus, the influence of the Achaean League was destroyed 
in the struggle between Cleomenes and Aratus, and Aratus 
was compelled to call in the help of Macedonia. The Mace- 
donians settled the quarrel by defeating Cleomenes, but they 
demanded a reward for their work, and Greece once more 
bowed to the master. 

TOPICS 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
work 



(1) Did the final results of Alexander's conquests justify the 
loss of life caused by his wars ? (2) Was the Macedonian con- 
quest a good thing for the Greeks and for the civilization of the 
world ? (3) Do you think that Greek culture would have spread 
into the East without the Macedonians ? (4) In what did most 
of the Greek political leagues originate ? (5) Compare the princi- 
ples of the Achsean League with those of the Delian Confederacy. 
(6) Compare the Achaean League with the Confederation in the 
early history of this country. (7) What does the conflict be- 
tween Aratus and Cleomenes tell you as to the possibility of the 
Greeks conquering Persia, had Alexander not come on the scene ? 
(8) Were the terms of Antipater too severe on Athens ? 

(9) Gallic invasion into the East. (10) The Maccabees in Judea. 
(11) The Greek kingdom in Egypt. (12) Greek as the world 
language after Alexander. (13) The magnificence of Antioch. 
(14) The library of Alexandria, (15) A list of members of the 
Achaean League. 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 15, 58, 59, 300. 

Holm, History of Greece,, IV. chs. i.-iii. x. xiv. xv. ; Ereeman, 
History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy, chs. v.-viii. ; 
Gardner, New Chapters, ch. xv. ; Fowler, City- State, ch. xi. ; 
Mahaffy, Alexander'' s Empire, — Empire of the Ptolemies; Thirl- 
wall. History of Greece, vols. VII. VIII. 

Plutarch, Lives, Eumenes, Demetrius, Pyrrhus, Aratus, Agis, 
Cleomenes, Philopoemen ; Polybius, bks. i.-v. passim ; Diodorus, 
bks, xviii.-xxii. ; Justin, History, bks. xiii.-xxiv. 

W. A. Becker, Charicles. 



CHAPTEE XXY. 

GREEK SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE FROM 400 TO 200 b.c. 

A REVIEW of the causes, events, and results of the Peloponne- 

sian war will show that the end of the struggle inaugurated a 

distinct change in Greek political life : Athens had lost 

1, 1 .1 1 J. ^ . . n 316. Change 

her supremacy ; and the hope of a Greece united from in Hellenic 

within soon passed aAvay forever (pp. 180, 192). The ideals 

change in the social and intollectual ideals of the race is no 
less marked. In Athens, as elsewhere, men no longer found 
their chief occupation in affairs of state; private life and 
personal affairs began now to assume a new importance. Ora- 
tors might inveigh against the indifference of the people, but 
the passionate interest in public affairs was gone. 

The effect was noticeable in all walks of life. Artists no 
longer devoted their talents exclusively to the erection and 
adornment of temples and other public buildings ; private indi- 
viduals now claimed their share of the artists' time, and hence 
the ideals in art changed from the heroic productions of the 
age of Phidias to the more dramatic and sometimes grotesque 
productions of the later sculptors. No dramatic geniuses like 
^schylus, Sophocles, and Aristo^^hanes any longer wrote trage- 
dies and comedies for public festivals ; instead of poetry, prose 
became the prevailing form of literature. Finally, the com- 
fort of the individual became more important; the state and 
its needs were degraded to a secondary position. That this 
is true is proved by the universal custom of employing merce- 
naries in place of the former citizen militia. Business, and 
private affairs generally, were too important to be left to shift 
for themselves while the citizen was serving in the army. 

307 



308 SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

During the fourth century b.c, Athens was still the leader of 
Greek social, intellectual, and artistic life. Even in the follow- 
ing century, the sentiment of the race tended to idealize every- 
thing that Athens did, though the city had ceased to be the 
only center of culture. Among the other centers, Alexandria 
stood supreme ; socially it differed much from the Athens we 
have learned to know, because within its limits all races met, 
and might fraternize on terms of equality. Within the city 
gathered merchants from every land; in its streets, Greek 
philosopher and scientist brushed robes with Jewish savant 
and Egyi)tian priest. 

In the cities of Asia Minor and Syria, much the same condi- 
tions existed. Antioch became the richest, the proudest, and 
the most voluptuous of all Hellenic cities; there, as elsewhere, 
the races coalesced, and a cosmopolitan civilization was the 
result. 

Intellectually, the Greeks had also changed. The drama, 
except for a new school of comedy, had died out, and nothing 
had come to take its i)lace. The new comedy, to judge 
new litera- from the few fragments which have come down to us, 
*^^® was no longer like the tierce satiric comedies of Aris- 

tophanes ; it had ceased entirely to deal with politics, and now 
confined itself entirely to pictures of men in private life. In 
character, therefore, it approaches much more nearly to our 
modern drama: the characters are no longer the men who meet 
and debate upon public affairs in the market places, but the 
people in their daily walks of life. 

Of all the poets of this school, Menander, who flourished in 
the last half of the fourth century b.c, is the most famous, and 
even he is only a name to us. None of his comedies have been 
preserved in their entirety, and whatever criticisms are made 
upon his works are based, not upon the originals, but upon 
Roman adaptations. 

Other poetry of the highest merit there was none. In prose, 



SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 



309 



however, the century was prolific : history, oratory, philosophy, 
and science each has its great representatives. 

Xenophon, the greatest historian of the age, is a not un- 
worthy successor of Thucydides. Born sometime about the 

beginning of the Peloponnesian war, he reached his ma- „,„ ^ 

318. Tne 
turity when Socrates was lecturing to the youth of historian 

Athens. Xenophon was a faithful follower of Socrates, Xenophon 
and when his master was put to death, he left Athens and 
joined the expedition which Cyrus had organized for the pur- 
pose of dethroning the Persian 
king Artaxerxes. In the re- 
treat of the Greeks from Cu- 
naxa, Xenophon was the mov- 
ing spirit. Eeturning to Greece 
in the beginning of the fourth 
century b.c, he attached himself 
to the party of the Spartan oli- 
garchs, and lived almost all 
the rest of his life in leisure 
on an estate in Elis, which 
he had received through the 
bounty of the Spartan govern- 
ment. 

Of his writings, three works 
deserve special attention. In 
the Memorabilia, he sets forth his idea of the life and doctrines 
of his former teacher, Socrates. The work is interesting, 
because it gives us a picture of the famous philosopher as a 
man of the world saw him. Of more direct interest to the 
student of history are two other works, the Anabasis and the 
Hellenica. The first, an account of the expedition of Cyrus 
and the retreat of the ten thousand, is probably the most 
universally read of all the Greek prose classics. Its style is 
simple, and the story interesting. The latter, the history of 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 19 




Menander. 
Vatican, Rome. 



310 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 



Greece from 410 b.c. to the battle of Mantinea (362 b.c), is 
evidently intended as a continuation of the history of Thu- 
cydides. Though by no means a masterpiece like its model, 
though marred by occasional prejudice and narrowness of 
view, the work has an immense value as the only contempo- 
rary source for the history of the Spartan and Theban suprem- 
acies. 

Besides these three works, Xenophon was the author of a 
number of political, social, and economic essays, in which, as in 
everything else that he wrote, the predominating characteristic 
is the sound common sense and practical, everyday wisdom of 
the man. 

In the days of Philip and Alexander, Greece continued to 
produce at least one historian for each epoch ; unfortunately, 
the works of these men have been lost, and all that we know 
of them is what can be gathered from the histories of later 
authorities like Diodorus and Ap- 
pian, and from the biographies 
of Plutarch. 

From the time when the Ecclesia 
became the chief political body in 
319 The Athens ; and the popular su- 
preme court, the highest tri- 
bunal in the state, no citizen's 
education was complete till he had 
learned to use his tongue readily and 
efficiently in public debate. Curi- 
ously enough, none of the orations 
of Pericles, Cleon, or Alcibiades 
are extant ; either they spoke ex- 
temporaneously, or their written 

orations have been lost. It was not till Athens had passed 
the period of her greatest glory that she produced her greatest 
orators. 



orator 
Lysias 




Lysias. 
National Museum, Naples: 



SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 



311 



The first of the great orators was Lysias. Born about the 
middle of the fifth century B.C., of foreign parents, he was 
therefore denied the privilege of Athenian citizenship. Never- 
theless, he resolved to pursue a profession somewhat akin to 
that of a modern lawyer. 

Important cases were tried, as we have seen, before the 
popular courts. Since the law was simple, the juries could 
interpret it without danger of doing grave injustice to either 
plaintiff or defendant. For the same reason, parties to the 
suit could x^lead their own cases without difficulty. Indeed, 
the law allowed no third party like our modern lawyers to 
intervene. Still, in course of time, it became the common prac- 
tice to employ professional speech writers to draw up what we 
should now call the address to the jury. In the writing of 
such speeches, Lysias attained a 
great reputation, and even to-day 
his addresses are models of court- 
room oratory. 

In every case, his aim seems 
to have been to tell a simple, 
straightforward story, to impress 
his audience with his sincerity 
and honesty, to throw the blame 
of pettifogging upon his adver- 
sary. Like our own Lincoln, he 
won his cases not by abstruse 
reasoning, but by the irresistible 
logic of a plain, practical man. 

Another of the great orators 
of the fourth century B.C. was Isocrates. Born in 436 e.g., he 
lived to see Athens fall from her position as mistress of the 
^gean, to see Sparta gain and lose her empire, to watch 320 
the rapid rise and fall of Thebes, to follow the fortunes 
of Philip down to the battle of Chaeronea. Though he is 




Isor KATES. 

Villa Albani, Rome. 



Isoc- 
rates 



312 SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 

classed among the orators, he might much better be called a 
political essay writer. His orations were intended for private 
reading rather than for public delivery. His style is very 
much more polished than that of Lysias, his art very much 
more evident. 

For the last fifty years of his life, Isocrates devoted all his 
talents toward the unification of Greece. In his Panegyric, 
written about 380 b.c, he urged the Greeks to unite under the 
leadership of Athens in an effort to wrest Asia from the decay- 
ing Persian power. Twenty or thirty years later, he reluc- 
tantly abandoned his dream of a united Greece and turned to 
the conquering Macedonian as the one who was to fulfill his 
hopes of an Hellenic empire in the east. In 346 b.c. he 
addressed an elaborate letter to Philip, exhorting him to put 
himself at the head of the Hellenic world, to lead the Greeks 
against their ancient enemy, the Persian. Great must have 
been his joy when in 338 b.c. Philip finally united all Greece 
under his sway ; still, he did not live to see his hopes fulfilled : 
before the year was out, he died at the advanced age of ninety- 
eight. 

The age of the end of Greek liberty is also the age of the 
greatest Athenian orators. First among the men who thun- 
321. Demos- dered against the advancing fortunes of Philip, as we have 
Ms^ontem- ^^^^^' ^^^ Demosthenes (p. 198). Fired with a red-hot ear 
poraries nestness and an unflinching determination to do all that 
he could to injure the cause of Philip, he persisted in his oppo- 
sition, till all the ages have rung with his praises as the cham- 
pion of liberty. Whether those praises are deserved or not, 
there can be but one verdict upon his power as an orator : in 
all ages he stands preeminent; no other man has ever been 
able to rival his achievements. Contemporary with Demos- 
thenes were many other orators, whose ability, in any other 
time, would have won them unending renown. Of them all, 
^schines, the political rival of Demosthenes, was the greatest. 



SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 



313 



Pitted against any other antagonist, ^schines would certainly 

have won the fight ; but his endeavor to secure the downfall of 

Demosthenes ended in his own ruin, and he was forced to flee 

from Athens, and to spend his last days in exile in the cities 

of Asia Minor and the east. 

In philosophy, the era which we are now considering opens 

with the most brilliant writer in all antiquity — Plato. Born 

in Athens in 427 b.c, of a family which traced its pedi- 322. The 

gree back to some of the most illustrious names in S^l°^°?oJ^ 
° Plato (427- 

Athenian history, he had an early training such as 347 B.C.) 
few, even the most cultivated 
youths of the day, received. At 
twenty he attached himself to 
Socrates and became his most 
devoted disciple. When Soc- 
rates suffered death, Plato left 
Athens, and for some ten years 
traveled about from Sicily in 
the west to Egypt in the east. 
In 389 B.C. he settled down 
once more in Athens, and from 
that day to his death, in 
347 B.C., he taught philosophy, 
with scarcely a single interrup- 
tion. 

Of his doctrines and ideas of human life and human society, 
it is impossible to give an adequate idea in a book so brief as 
this. His works were written in the form of dialogues, in 
which the characters discuss all manner of subjects, human 
and divine. One idea underlies all his philosophy : the essen- 
tial unreality of the material world and the permanency of 
divine ideals. His ideal form of government, as set forth 
in The Republic, 
attainment. 




Plato. 



is interesting, but quite beyond human 



314 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 




The most renowned pupil and the intellectual successor of 
Pl^to was Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great. Though 

323 Aris ^^* ^ ^^^^ Athenian, he 

totle (384- spent many years of his 
^^ life in that city, teaching 
and writing on philosophical 
subjects. Although a pupil of 
Plato, his philosophy differs 
widely from that of his master ; 
for, above all things, Aristotle 
was practical, while Plato was 
often a poetical dreamer. 

In the course of his life, Aris- 
totle's mind embraced all sub- 
jects of human thought: pure 
philosophy, logic, ethics, poli- 
tics, and natural history; and 
when he died, ''so all-embrac- 
ing, so systematic, so absolutely complete did his philosophy 
appear, that he seemed to after generations to have left nothing 
more to discover. He at once attained a supremacy which 

Marshall, ^ lasted for some two thousand years, not only over the 

iJsophy, ^*" Grreek-speaking world, but over every form of civiliza- 

ch.xvuL tion of that long period. . . . His authority was ac- 
cepted equally by the learned doctors of Moorish Cordova 
and the Fathers of the Church ; to know Aristotle was to 
have all knowledge ; not to know him was to be a boor ; to 
deny him was to be a heretic." 

Greek philosophy reached its height with Plato and Aris- 
totle ; nevertheless, in the following century, there are two 

324. Later schools of philosophers which deserve a passing word. 

philosophy The first was the school of Stoics, who taught as their 
ideal that the outward life of man is the least part of his 
existence, and should therefore be disregarded; temperance 



Aristotle. 



Palazzo Spada, Rome. 



SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 



315 



and self-denial, they said, are the only true means of attain- 
ing happiness and contentment. The second school was that 
of the Epicureans, who believed that the ultimate end of 
human existence is the pursuit of pleasure. They taught, how- 
ever, that pleasure is by no means always the attainment of 
some immediate desire, for too often the man who gives way 
to present wants is sure of pain and disappointment in the 
end; that the true philosopher seeks only such pleasure as will 
lead to ultimate and complete happiness. 

In the third century B.C., one other branch of human knowl- 
edge was diligently cultivated. In Athens, " the humanities " 

— art, literature, and the study of the human mind — had 

325. TI16 

attracted men till the time of Aristotle ; in Alexandria, study of 
men began to investigate the phenomena of the physical science 

world and the laws which govern human understanding. Under 
such men as Euclid and Eratosthenes, geometry, geography, 
and astronomy were more and more elaborated ; under others, 
the knowledge of the origin and development of human speech 

first attained to the dignity of 
an exact science. Science for 
the first time in Greek history 
became a distinct branch of 
human knowledge; and seven- 
teen centuries later men began 
where the Greeks left off. 

In art, as in literature, it is 
the life of the individual, and no 
longer the life of the state, 326. Greek 
that the artist is interested in. Instead of the grand 
and almost forbidding statues of gods like Zeus and 
Athene, which Phidias and his associates had created, the 
sculptors now devoted their talents to the creation of images of 
the more nearly human gods, such as Aphrodite (Venus) and 
Hermes, and the statues of kings and rulers in the land. 




Hermes of Praxiteles. 
Museum, Olympia. 



art from 

400 to 200 

B.C. 



316 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 



First among the artists of the period following the Pelopon- 
nesian war was Scopas. Of his works, only the tradition has 
come down to us ; still, from the descriptions of those who 
were fortunate enough to see them, we know that they must 
have been very beautiful. Contemporary with Scopas was 
Praxiteles, whose most famous work was the statue of Aphro- 
dite of Cnidus, which has now been lost, but which in ancient 
times men traveled from all parts of the world to see. Other 
works of his are still preserved ; most notably, the statue of 
the faun which is now in the Capitoline 
Museum at Kome, and about which Haw- 
thorne has woven his story of The Marble 
Faun; and the magnificent Hermes and 
infant Dionysus (p. 31o), which were found 
in the ruins of Olympia. Both works show 
a tenderness and a love for the j^urely human 
in life which were foreign to the works of 
the previous century, and which have been 
the envy of artists in all succeeding ages. 

The greatest of the successors of Prax- 
iteles was the portrait artist Lysippus, the 
court sculptor of Alexander. Lysippus 
Capitoline Museum, devoted much of his time to the creation of 
Rome; known as statues of the young king himself, and so 
the Marble Faun. „ , , • ,i • t . t - i • j. 

successiui was he m this work that his tame 

is still great after the lapse of so many hundred years. 

In the next century (300-200 e.g.), the center of artistic life 
moved from Greece proper to the Hellenic cities of Asia Minor 
and to Ehodes. To this age belong the Winged Victory of 
Samothrace, the Venus of Melos, the Colossus of Ehodes, the 
Laocoon, and many other works of equal merit. Of few of 
these works do we know the author, yet their merit has kept 
them among the greatest of man's handiwork in all the ages. 




Faun or Satyr of 
Praxiteles. 



SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 



31' 



The fourth, and third centuries B.C., then, are famous in the 
first place for the change in spirit among the Hellenes. Inter- 
est in public life has given ^2^ 
way to interest in private 
affairs, and that has affected the 
social life of the people, especially 
in the cities of the east. In litera- 
ture, prose has become the domi- 
nant form of composition, with 
history, oratory, philosophy, and 
science as the subjects of the great- 





VlCTORY OF SaMOTHRACE. 

From island of Samothrace; 
now in the Louvre, Paris. 

est interest. In art, too, 
it is the more human sub- 
jects which now attract 
men ; instead of gods like 
Zeus and Athene, the 
sculptors choose their 
subjects among the more 
personal gods like Aphro- 
dite and Hermes, and from among the children of men. In 
short, the age is far less classic, but much more human than 
that which preceded it, and consequently much more interest- 
ing to the modern man. 



Laocoon Group. 

Vatican, Rome. Laocoon, a priest of Troy, 
having offended Apollo, was with his two 
sons attacked and slain by serpents. 



Sum- 
mary 



318 



SPREAD OF HELLENIC CULTURE 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 

Illustrative 

work 



TOPICS 

(1) How do you account for 
the changes in the social life of the 
Greeks? (2) What caused the 
decay of the drama ? (3) Is it an 
advantage for a state to have su- 
preme legislative povi^er over for- 
eign and domestic matters in the 
hands of a popular assembly, or 
its judicial matters in the hands 
of a popular supreme court? 
Give your reasons. (4) Did the 
Greeks themselves realize the 
impossibility of Greek unity ? 
(5) Who were the Greek histo- 
rians before Xenophon, and what 
works did they write? (6) Is 
there any connection between the 
decline of Greek power and the 
employment of mercenary troops? 
(7) Who was Socrates ? (8) Why 
was Aristotle so much studied 
during the Middle Ages ? (9) In 
your own city, can you point out 
anything which shows a debt to 
the Greeks ? 

(10) Compare Plato's Bepublic 
with More's Utopia. (11) Plato's 
opinions of slavery. (12) What 
does American civilization owe to 
the Greeks? (13) Aristotle and 
Alexander. (14) A Greek law- 
suit. (15) Plato's opinion of 
Socrates. 

REFERENCES 

Holm, History of Greece, III. ch. xii. ; Mahaffy, Social Life in 
Greece, chs. vi.-xiv., — Survey of Greek Civilization, chs. vi.-viii. ; 
Tarbell, History of Greek Art, chs. ix. x. ; Gardner, Handbook of 
Greek Sculpture, chs. iv. v. ; Jebb, Greek Literature, pt. ii. chs. 
ii. iii. ; Marshall, History of Greek Philosophy, chs. xiv.-xvii. 

Plato, Dialogues ; Lysias, Orations ; Isocrates, Orations. 

Barthelemi, Young Anacharsis. 




Venus of Melos. 
Discovered in the island of 
Melos, 1820 ; now in the 
Louvre, Paris. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ROME THE MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 

(200-133 B.C.) 

" The peace with Carthage was quickly followed by a war 
with Macedonia: a war not to be compared to the war 
with Carthage, either in the danger to the state or in ^^^^^ 

the abilities of the commanders or in the valor of the *^^*- ^ 

soldiers, but perhaps more remarkable on account of the 
renown of the former kings and the ancient fame of that 
nation." Thus the Eoman historian Livy begins his account 
of the three quarters of a century of war in which Rome 
advanced her power by the conquest of Macedonia, Greece, 
and Asia Minor. 

At the end of the second Punic war, when Rome turned her 
chief attention to the east, the Hellenic world was still divided 
principally among the three great kingdoms described in 328. Rem- 
Chapter xxiv. Of these, the kiugdom of the Seleucidse ^ex^nd^r'^ 
in Asia Minor and the east was the largest, but at the empire 

same time the least securely organized ; several semi-independ- 
ent states existed within its borders, of which Pergamus and 
Rhodes were the most important. 

In striking contrast to the loosely knit empire of the 
Seleucidse stood the closely organized kingdom of Egypt. 
Content from the first to govern this narrow strip of land, the 
Ptolemies had rarely attempted to extend their dominion 
beyond the mouth of the Nile, and in consequence they had 
built up a kingdom which resisted the overwhelming power 
of Rome longer than any of the other states. 

319 



320 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



V. at war 
with Rome 



Macedonia had returned to the social and political condi- 
tions which existed in the days before Philip and Alexander ; 
the people were still a hardy race, loving war and despising 
peace, ready at all times for revolution and rebellion. The 
Greeks were divided by mutual jealousies, and were unwilling 
subjects of the Macedonian king. 

Philip V. was king in Macedonia at the end of the third 

century b.c. It was he who entered into the agreement with 

329 PhliTj Hannibal in 215 b.c. to make war upon Kome. Though 

Philip never entered Italy, Rome interfered with his 

affairs in Greece, and this collision is known as the first 

Macedonian war. Outwardly, Philip had everything which 

goes to make a man attractive; but beneath the surface he 

concealed qualities which 
made him one of the most 
unbearable tyrants. He was 
cruel to friends and enemies 
alike ; he was careless of his 
word, ready to break an oath 
or betray a trust whenever 
his momentary interests demanded it ; worst of all, he lacked 
definiteness of purpose, often wasting his time and doing end- 
less injury to his subjects by shilly-shallying in diplomacy 
and war, when vigor and persistence might easily have won 
important victories. 

The year after the battle of Zama, in 201 b.c, Philip began 
a war against the states of Asia Minor, relying on an agree- 
ment with Antiochus, the descendant of Seleucus and ruler of 
what we may call the Kingdom of Asia ; thereupon Pergamus 
and Ehodes, to protect themselves, called upon Rome for aid. 
Rome was reluctant to declare war ; for almost a generation 
the city had known not an instant of peace, and most of the 
people were anxious that no new contest should be under- 
taken. Even when Philip refused absolutely to treat with 




Coin of Philip V. 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 321 

the Eoman ambassadors, the people hesitated, and only when 
the consul Sulpicius warned them that war with Macedonia 
must come sooner or later, and that it was better to fight it 
out in Macedon than in Italy, did the people consent to a new 
levy of legions which were to serve abroad. 

Sulpicius crossed into Greece in 199 b.c, but accomplished 
nothing. Next year the new consul Flamininus, a man 330. Cam- 
of a new type among the Romans, was sent out. " Of a flamininus 
kind, gentle nature, he worked rather by fair means than (198-197 
by force; of a persuasive address in all his dealings, piutarch, 
he was still, above all other things, bent and determined Flamininus 
upon justice." To these qualities, he added a sentimen- 
tality and a love of the Golden Age that had but little in 
common Avith the hard-headed common sense for which the 
Romans have always been noted. Nevertheless, Flamininus 
was no mere dreamer : from his ancestors he inherited enough 
of the fighting blood of his race to make him a skilled and 
prudent general. 

For two years Flamininus fought against Philip. At the 
end of the first year Philip was ready for peace ; but the terms 
which the Roman Senate offered were not satisfactory, and the 
war went on. The second year the two armies met in Thessaly, 
in the rough and broken country near Cynoscephalae. In the 
battle which followed, the mobile Roman legion, arranged 
in open order three ^^^ ^^^ ^_^___ ^^^ 

ranks deep, proved 

its superiority over ~^^ "'^""" ^""^ 

the massive Macedo- '^— ^^^ ^^^ 

nian phalanx ; the Arrangement o^^^he Ten Cohorts in a 

Macedonians were de- 
feated, and Philip was forced to flee with the remnant of his 
army. 

Negotiations for peace began at once. The Romans ear- 
nestly desired to do justice to all parties concerned in the 



322 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

war; they demanded from Philip only what they had pre- 
scribed at the beginning of the war ; namely, that he should 

331 Ar leave the Greeks free to pursue their destinies without 
rangements foreign interference. Neither now nor for some time 
donia and ^^ come did they have any designs upon the independ- 
Greece ence of Macedonia. 

The ^tolian allies, who had joined Rome in the war with 

the hope of breaking the Macedonian power forever, were 

profoundly discontented with the leniency of the terms thus 

offered. They claimed that Flamininus had promised, in the 

event of a successful war, that Philip should be severely 

PolyUus punished. " He [Flamininus] was deluded and mis- 

xviii.36 taken," said Alexander, the .Ftolian, "if he believed 

that by making terms with Philip he would secure peace for 

the Romans or freedom for the Greeks. ... If he desired 

to accomplish both the design of his own government and his 

own promises, there was but one way of making terms with 

Macedonia, and that was to eject Philip from the throne." 

When Flamininus disregarded the protests of the ^tolians, 

Polvhius they went about among the allies, stirring up all manner 

xviii. 45 of trouble. " The Greeks," they declared, " were getting 

not freedom, but a change of masters." 

In spite of all these protests, the Romans dictated the 
following terms : Philip was to retain his kingdom, engaging 
only to abstain from all hostile acts toward Rome ; he was 
to relinquish all territory not within the confines • of his 
kingdom ; and, in future, he was not to interfere in any way 
in the affairs of Greece. 

The Romans did not apjiropriate an acre of the territory 
thus released from Macedonian control. To Flamininus, the 

332 Flami- triumph over Philip was an opportunity, not for the 
ninus hopes aggrandizement of Rome, but for restoring Greece to 
orate^^^^" ^^^ ^®^ former glory. "Visiting all the cities," says 
Greece Plutarch, " he exhorted them to the practice of obedience 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 323 

to the law, of constant unity and friendship one toward Plutarch, 
another. He suppressed their factions and brought home ^^"^^^^^^-^ 
their political exiles ; in short, to conquer Macedonia did not 
seem to give him more lively pleasure than to find himself 
prevalent in reconciling Greeks with Greeks, so that liberty 
seemed now the least part of the kindness he conferred upon 
them." Unfortunately for the dreams of Flamininus and 
other Romans of his kind, Greece had fallen too low to be 
capable of regeneration. The feuds and quarrels of centuries 




Coin of Antiochus. 

had not failed to have their effect: Greece was decadent 
beyond hope of recovery. 

The next step in the forward march of Eome led her into 
Asia. What Eome had ordered Philip to relinquish, Anti- 
ochus came forward to seize ; still, for the time, Eome 333. War 
contented herself with entering a mild protest against ^^'^'^fq^' 
the conduct of the king, till in 192 b.c, at the invita- 190 B.C.) 
tion of the ^tolians, he invaded Greece ; then Eome put her 
armies in motion. 

At first, Greece itself was the battleground, but in the 
second year of the war the forces of Antiochus Avere defeated 
at Thermopylae, and the king was forced to withdraw to 
Asia Minor. In 190 b.c. a Eoman army, led by the consul 
Lucius Scipio, brother of Publius Scipio Africanus, entered 
Asia Minor. In the train of the consul was the great Afri- 
canus himself, and to him the honor of the ensuing events 



324 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

is largely due. Late in the year, at Magnesia, the Eomans 
finally encountered the army of Antiochus, an army " checkered 
j^i^y^ with the troops of many nations," as Livy says. The 

xxxvii. 40 battle soon turned into a rout, and all the Asiatic forces, 
including the king, fled south, and left the Eomans in un- 
disputed possession of Asia Minor. So complete was the 
Appian, discomfiture of Antiochus, that as the historian Appian 
Wars vii. ^^7^? " It became a common saying among men : ' There 
3~ was a king — Antiochus the Great ! ' " 

The effect of the defeat was immediate : envoys from every 
Greek city in Asia Minor flocked to the Roman camp and 

334. Ar- offered the submission of their cities to the Eoman con- 
rangemeiits g^^j Within a month, Antiochus also sent to beg for 

lU A.S1£L 

Minor peace. To his ambassadors, Scipio replied, "We now, 

^^''^ as conquerors, offer you the same conditions which we 

xxxvii. 45 

offered to you when on equal footing. . . . Resign all 
pretensions in Europe, and cede that part of Asia which lies 
this side of Mount Taurus." To these terms Antiochus gladly 
agreed. 

Still Rome assumed for herself no direct control over the 
conquered territory : Greece was still to be free so long as 
she subordinated her foreign politics to those of Rome; in 
Asia Minor, those states which formerly had been under the 
nominal sovereignty of Antiochus, now became entirely inde- 
pendent, and joined their fortunes to those of Rome as allies. 

For nineteen years after the battle of Magnesia, there was 
nominal peace throughout the east, but both Macedonians 

335. Third and Greeks were restless and only waited for an oppor- 
war^(l71^^ tunity to begin hostilities. Meanwhile Philip V. died, 
168 B.C.) and his son Perseus took his place. In 171 b.c. the 

storm which had been so long brewing finally broke, and 

Rome was again forced to send her legions across the Adriatic. 

For the first two j^ears, Rome was poorly represented in 

the field ; had Perseus been a vigorous king, he might have 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 325 

attained considerable success ; but he wasted his opportunity, 
and in 168 b.c. Rome again found a commander worthy of her 
ancient fame — Lucius ..^milius Paulus, son of the martyr of 
Cannae. Paulus was a Eoman of the okl school, a strict disci- 
plinarian who expected absolute obedience from his troops, 
but who was willing to share in all the hardships of the cam- 
paign, in spite of the fact that he was already an old man. 
By prosecuting the war with a vigor to which even the Romans 
had ceased to be accustomed, he soon brought the campaign 
to an issue at Pydna in Macedonia. In the battle which fol- 
lowed, the Macedonians were once again defeated as they had 
been defeated at Cynoscephalse ; Perseus fled into Thrace, but 
he was captured shortly afterward and forced to submit to the 
Roman terms of peace. 

The third Macedonian war and the insurrection of Greece 
showed the Romans that the ^tolians had been right thirty 
years before when they contended that the only way to 336. Grad- 
settle affairs in Macedonia and Greece was to depose ^^j^^g^fn 
the Macedonian king. The hard-headed sense of Paulus policy 

was now applied where the visionary ideas of Flamininus 
had failed. Perseus was dethroned and led a captive to 
Rome, and though a semblance of independence was still left 
to Macedonia and Greece, though Rome even now did not add 
an acre to her domain, the governments which were set up 
were so manifestly the puppets of Rome that even the blindest 
could no longer be deceived. In Macedonia, four republics 
were established in place of the old monarchy ; in Greece no 
outward change was made, but thenceforth every city was 
constantly watched by some powerful and influential Roman. 
Even in Asia Minor, Pergamus and Rhodes were gradually 
reduced to a state where political independence was nothing 
more than a name. 

Meanwhile, in the west, the progress of Roman arms had 
been attended by long and bitter struggles. Ligurians, Gauls, 

WOLF. ANC, HIST. — 20 



326 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



and Spaniards all fought desperately against the power which 
was gradually crushing out their independence. Year after 
337 Eoman J^^^ *^^ Eoman legions marched out to do battle ; only 
conquests very gradually and at the cost of much blood were the in- 
fluences of civilization made to tell against the savage 
instincts of these barbarian tribes. The most celebrated of all 
the actions in this series of wars was the siege of Numantia, 



in the west 




Storming a City. 



a city in Spain which surrendered to Kome (133 b.c.) only 
after a most stubborn resistance. 

Carthage, too, was the source of constant anxiety to the 
Eomans. Since the peace of 201 b.c, the city had steadily in- 
creased in wealth and influence till Kome again saw in Carthage 
Amian ^ menace to her power. Those who visited Carthage " care- 

PunicWars, fully observed the country; they saw how diligently 
it was cultivated and what great estates it possessed. 
They entered the city and saw how greatly it had increased 
in wealth and population since its overthrow by Scipio not 
long before. When they returned to Eome, they declared 
that Carthage was to them an object of apprehension rather 



X.69 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDriERRANEAN BASIN 



327 



than of jealousy. ... It is said that Cato from that time 
continually expressed the opinion in the Senate that Carthage 
must be destroyed." 

After about fifty years of peace, a pretext for war was finally 
found, and Rome moved on relentlessly toward the destruc- 
tion of the city. Determined to be forever rid of this rival, 
Rome finally demanded that the ancient city should be aban- 
doned and that the citizens should move to another site 
several miles inland. In a frenzy of indignation at this un- 
just demand, the Carthaginians accepted the issue, and the 
third Punic war began. 

A Roman army landed in Africa in 149 b.c, and assailed 
the city ; but for two years the siege dragged on without result. 

Then, in 146 b.c, the 338. The 
Senate assigned Pub- „*;™- 
lius Cornelius Scipio (146 B.C.) 
^milianus, son of the hero 
of Pydna and adopted 
grandson of Scipio Afri- 
canus, to the army in 
Africa. If all accounts are 
true, Scipio was reluctant 
to undertake the task ; but 
his love of country over- 
came all other feelings, and 
Carthage. he went to Africa deter- 

mined to end the suspense. After several months of desperate 
fighting, his soldiers finally succeeded in scaling the walls, and 
then began that destruction of the city upon which Cato had 
set his heart. For days the legionaries rushed madly through 
the streets, killing, burning, and pillaging, till scarcely a vestige 
of the city's wealth was left. " At the sight of the city PohjUus, 
utterly perishing amidst the flames, Scipio burst into a^xKix. 5 

tears and stood long reflecting on the inevitable change which 



SCALE OF MILES 


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\ NSV-O: PWauai Harbor 


y^ 


^\MQfKmerchant Harbor 


»»»^ BAY OF 


^^•'SCIPIO-S DAM 


TUNIS 


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328 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



awaits cities, nations, and dynasties, one and all, as it does 
every man. ... He quoted from Homer : — 

' The day shall come when holy Troy shall fall, 
And Priam, lord of spears, and Priam's folk.' " 

Out of the ruins of the Carthaginian possessions, Rome now 

created the first province that was set up south of the Mediter- 

339. The ^^'^nean. It was known as the province of Africa; it 

province of was bounded on the west by Numidia, and was later 

extended east as far as Oyrenaica. Numidia was left 

unmolested ; to the lands that Massinissa had won, new lands 




Ruins of Carthage. 

were added ; but the kingdom was to hold itself in complete 
subjection to Rome. 

Macedonia and Greece were still seething with political dis- 
content ; one way and one way only remained for putting an 
340. End of end to the trouble: Rome must assume direct control of 
Macedonia ^^^ ^^^^^ region. About the middle of the century, an 
and Greece impostor who represented himself to be the son of Per- 
seus appeared in Macedonia and called upon the people to 
rise and throw off the yoke of Rome. At first the people 
laughed at his claims ; but when he appealed to their patriot- 
ism and love of liberty, they flocked to his standard and broke 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 



329 



out into open revolt. The Romans acted promptly ; within a 
year or two the country was swept by an army under Metel- 
lus, and all semblance of political independence was forever 
crushed; the four republics were abolished, and Macedonia, 
like the lands of Carthage, became a Eoman province. Some 
twenty years before, Illyricum had been placed in the charge 
of a Roman governor, so that there were now two provinces east 
of the Adriatic. 

The end was near at hand in Greece also. In 147 b.c. the 
Achaean League, the last representative of the warlike and 




Corinth. (Restoration ; Isthmus of Corinth in the distance.) 



liberty-loving Greeks of old, declared war upon Rome. The 
struggle speedily centered about the city of Corinth, and 
Metellus directed all his energies toward the reduction of that 
city. He was succeeded in 146 b.c. by the new consul, Mum- 
mius, and to him belongs the honor or the odium of finally 
reducing the city. Without mercy or feeling, he decreed the 
absolute destruction of the city; and in the days which fol- 
lowed, thousands of men and hundreds of works of art, among 
the most precious in the world, perished in the flames. 

As yet no province was created in Greece. Each city was 



330 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

dealt with separately : some were placed under the direct con- 
trol of the governor of Macedonia ; others received the honor- 
able position of allies; but nowhere was there any longer 
the semblance of liberty. Rome alone was mistress in the 
peninsula. 

Thirteen years later, in 133 e.g., upon the death of the last 
king of Pergamus, western Asia Minor fell to Rome as a royal 
bequest. This land was immediately organized as the province 
of Asia, thus adding another to the rapidly growing list of 
dependencies. 

The history of Eome during the sixty-eight years from the 
end of the second Punic war to the year 133 e.g. is the history 
341. Sum- of a succession of foreign wars. In the east Macedonia 
Toa.a.Tj -^g^g ^]^g £j.g|. ^Q £^^1 ^^Q weight of the Roman arm. First 

under Philip V., then under Perseus, the land was made to 
suffer for presuming to oppose the will of Rome ; the kingdom 
ceased to exist after the battle of Pydna in 168 e.g. Some 
twenty years later, when the land flamed into revolt for the 
last time, all semblance of independence was swept from the 
land, and the province of Macedonia was created. Within 
the same decade, Greece, too, lost her independence and 
became a part of the Roman dominion. 

Farther east, in Asia, Antiochus tried to stem the Roman 
tide, but he was defeated at Magnesia in 190 e.g. and forced 
to relinquish his claims upon Asia Minor. In 133 e.g. the 
western part of the peninsula was bequeathed to Rome by 
its last king, and became the province of Asia. 

In the west, the Romans struggled during this whole period 
to subdue the barbarian tribes of Liguria, Gaul, and Spain ; but 
even at the end of the period, the work was not entirely accom- 
plished. In Africa, Carthage continued to be a menace to 
Roman supremacy, till, about the middle of the century, the 
decree went forth that the city must be destroyed. The accom- 



MISTRESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN 



331 



plishment of this task was intrusted to Scipio ^milianus, the 
adopted grandson of the hero of Zama. In 146 b.c. the city 
fell, and out of its dominions the province of Africa was 
erected. Thus, in 133 b.c, Rome was the absolute mistress 
of the Mediterranean, with eight provinces : Sicily, Corsica 
and Sardinia, Hither Spain, Farther Spain, Illyricum, Africa, 
Macedonia, and Asia. On the shores of the sea, there were 
still several independent or semi-independent states, but none 
that could hope to cope with the imperial city of Rome. 







SCALE OF MILE3 




Roman Power in 120 B.C. 



TOPICS 

(1) Was the second Macedonian war more or less justifiable Suggestive 
than the Tarentine and Punic wars ? (2) What was the difference ^^^^^^ 
between the phalanx and the legion ? What were the advantages 
and disadvantages of each ? (3) Compare the treatment of Mace- 
donia with that of Carthage and explain the differences. (4) 
Judging from the third. Macedonian war, what did it mean to be 
"allies of Rome"? (5) Why did Rome set up republics in 
Macedonia ? What caused her change in policy ? (6) Why did 
Rome destroy Carthage ? (7) Why did Rome organize Africa as 
a province, but make allied states of her conquests in the east ? 
(8) Why did Rome eventually make provinces of ahnost all of 
her conquests ? (9) Why did Rome destroy Corinth ? Which 
destruction was more justifiable, that of Corinth or that of 
Carthage ? 



332 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Search 
topics 



(10) Enumerate the conquests of Rome from 264 to 133 e.g., 
and show the status of each at the beginning and at the end of 
this period. (11) What the early Romans thought about the 
Greeks. (12) Greek opinion of the Romans. (13) The ^tolian 
League. (14) Life at the court of an eastern king. (15) Re- 
mains of ancient Carthage. 



Geography- 
Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
work 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 58, 300, 331. 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xxiii.-xxvii. ; Shuck- 
burgh, History of Borne, chs. xxvii.-xxxiii. ; Mommsen, History 
of Borne, bk. iii., chs. vii.-x., bk. iv. ch. i. ; Ihne, History of Borne, 
bk. V. ; R. B. Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, chs. xix.- 
xxi., — Bome and Carthage, chs. xviii.-xx. ; Allcroft and Masom, 
Borne under the Oligarchs, chs. i.-ix. ; Freeman, Federal Govern- 
ment, ch. ix. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. iii. ch. ii. ; 
Duruy, History of Bome, II. chs. xxvi.-xxxiv. ; F. F. Abbott, 
Boman Political Institutions, ch. v. 

Livy, bks. xxxi.-xlv., — Epitome, bks. xlvi.-lvii. lix. ; Polybius, 
bks. xvi.-xviii. xx.-xxxix. ; Appian, Foreign Wars, bk. vi. chs. 
8-16, bk. viii. chs. 10-20, bk. ix., bk. x. chs. 1, 2, bk. xi. chs. 1-8 ; 
Plutarch, Lives, Flamininus, M. Cato, Philopoemen, Aratus, JEm. 
Paulus ; Diodorus, fragments of bks. xxvi. xxviii. 

G. Flaubert, Salammbo. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS AND CUSTOMS INTO 

ROME 

In the old days, before Rome became the mistress of 
the entire Mediterranean world, the dwellers on the Tiber 
were noted among men as examples of austerity and 
sternness far beyond anything that the ancient world Roman love 
had ever known. Love of country and fidelity to ^^ country 
the state outweighed all other passions. Time and again 
the chronicles relate stories of men who without a tremor 
sacrificed themselves and their children to the welfare of 
the city. Each generation had its heroes who lived and 
died for no other purpose than to advance the fortunes 
of the stern mother whom they all loved so well. To these 
men, the community was everything, the individual little; 
and families were great, not because of what they had 
accomplished for themselves, but because they had con- 
tributed to the glory of Rome. " Thus, as one ^en- 
eration after another was laid in the tomb, and bk. Hi. 

each in succession added its fresh contribution to the ^^" ^"^ 

stock of ancient honors, the collective sense of dignity in the 
noble families of Rome swelled into that mighty civic pride, 
the like of which the earth has never seen again." 

In the days after the second Punic war, much of this 
patriotic feeling was rapidly passing away. A few men ' 
still lived who cherished with jealous hearts the old tradi- 
tions of the city, but too many had already learned to love 
things that were foreign and wholly unsuited to the Roman 
character. 



334 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Horace, 
Odes, ii. 15 



Of the poet's " good old school, when each Roman's 
wealth was little worth, his country's much," Marcus 
of the con^^ Porcius Cato (234-149 b.c.) is one of the most famous 
servative 
Roman 



examples. To his life Plutarch devotes one of his 
biographies, which is really a sermon on the good old 
times which the Romans of the following centuries so much 
admired and so little imitated. Hard and severe in the 
government of his family, simple and austere in his mode 
of life, Cato devoted his talents and his energies to the 
single purpose of advancing the fortunes of his mother city. 
He never ceased to preach against the new education and 
literature, against the adoption of Greek manners and cus- 
toms; yet he went down to his grave, conscious that the 
old era was gone, that a new Rome, tinctured by the 
civilization of the east, had risen on the site of that old 
city whose ideals were as narrow as the confines of Italy. 

Almost as far back as the history of Rome extends, Greek 
influences are to be traced in the development of Roman 
culture. Etruscan merchants, trading beyond the sea, 
Greek brought to Rome the products of Greek art and man- 

influences vifacture, and thus the Romans learned to know and 
admire the race which could produce works of art far 

beyond the skill of 
the rude Italian 
husbandman. 
From Cumse and 
the Greek cities of 
the south, mer- 
chants made their 
way into the city, 
and from their 
packs emerged ever new sources of wonder and delight to 
gratify the eyes of the Roman shopper. Still, the nation 
as a whole was slow to learn; the genius of the people was 




Roman Vessels. 



INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 



335 



intensely conservative and little given to the cultivation 
of the artistic sense, and more people scorned the handiwork 
of the Greek than admired it. 

For more than a century and a half, the Roman fought 
his way slowly northward and southward, till, at the 
beginning of the third century B.C., he was knocking 
at the gates of the Greek cities. Then, for another 
century and a half, the arms of the imperial city 
rapidly subdued land after land till there were none in 
the Mediterranean basin to dispute her supremacy. In that 
century and a half, a complete change in the intellectual, 
moral, and social life of Rome took place. 
Rome was no longer a city dominated by 
ancient Roman ideals ; in place of the nar- 
row and austere life of ancient days had 
been substituted a new culture, cosmopolitan 
as the confines of the ancient world. 

The change here noted proceeded but 
slowly, so long as the Roman armies con- 
fined their campaigns to the lands of the 
west ; but from the day when the first Roman 
legions entered Greece, the change proceeded 
with mighty strides. As we have seen, 
Flamininus and the men of his stamp conceived it to be 
the divinely appointed mission of Rome to rejuvenate and 
regenerate the ancient land of Greece. The spell of the 
Greek name was still powerful enough to awe the minds of 
men less firmly rooted in their faith in the ancient culture 
of Rome than were Cato and his kind. 

Unfortunately, in the century and a half after the death 
of Alexander, ease, luxury, sensuality, and degrading re- 
ligious rites had done much to taint the glory of Greek 
civilization. The Greek of the days of Flamininus was far 
from being the Greek of the days of Pericles, or even of 



345. 

Change in 
ideals due 
to con- 
quests 




Bronze Pitcher. 



336 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Horace, 

Epistles 

a. 1 




the days of Alexander. Yet it was this latter-day Greek 
culture which the Eoman now adopted with avidity. Within 
a few years, says Horace, "Greece, though subdued, 
transformed her conqueror, planting her arts in 
Eome." 
The result of this adop- 
tion of Hellenic ideals 

346. Good ^^' ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ 
and evil evil. Much of the 

effects • • 1 

VICIOUS ease, luxury, 

and sensuality of the East was intro- 
duced into Rome ; and in course of 
time, the Roman lost much of the sim- 
plicity and dignity which had been 
the most striking characteristic of his early 
history, Nevertheless the Roman learned 
from the Greek a broader culture, which 
eventually made it possible for him to 
cope successfully with the most difficult 
problem which his conquests presented — 
the perfect amalgamation of all the races 
of the Mediterranean basin and central 
Europe into a single and undivided empire. 

In dealing with the influence of Greek 
civilization upon Rome, we shall discuss the Scales. 

following five subjects : religion, manners and customs, educa- 
tion, literature, art. 

In the earliest days, the Romans had worshiped as their 
gods abstract virtues and the powers of nature : family pride, 

347. wisdom, constancy, the heat of summer which ripens the 
Ro^an^ "^ crops, the winds which bring the fresh, cool air, and the 
religion storms which destroy the works of men. Very early, 

however, this simple religion lost its freshness and its com- 
parative purity ; gloomy superstitions, tiresome ritualism, and 



INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 337 

an obscuring system of theology were introduced from Etruria, 
till irreligion and positive unbelief crept in to undermine the 
ancient faith. 

Under such conditions, the adoption of new forms and even 
new gods was easy ; deities which originally had been mere ab- 
stractions were soon identified with the gods of Greece: Mars, 
who brought victory in war, with Ares ; Jupiter or Jove, the 
presiding genius of the state, with Zeus; Minerva, who caused 
the grain to ripen in the field, with Athene ; and Venus, the 
goddess of the garden, with Aphrodite ; all the wealth of Greek 
mythology was accepted without change. 

Had the process stopped here, Kome might not have been . 
much worse off than in the beginning, but the seekers after 
new gods were not content with the comparatively pure reli- 
gious conceptions of the Greeks ; they went further and brought 
home to Kome such gods of the Orient as Cybele, the goddess 
of creative force, and Bacchus, the god of wine; and with 
these deities came practices so vicious that even the ancient 
Komans hesitate to describe them. Henceforth religion, to 
many of the citizens, became an excuse for the vilest and most 
unmentionable sins. Many men still adhered tenaciously to 
the ancient faith, many Romans were still as pure as in the 
olden days, but the evil practices of the few affected the morals 
of the whole city, and in course of time Rome sank to the level 
of Antioch and Alexandria. 

The daily life of the people felt most strongly the influence 
of the east. In the old days, every citizen had been content 
to live simply, tilling his fields, governing his family, in- 343 

dulging in the most innocent pleasures : industry and Changes in 
frugality were the two highest virtues ; indolence and in- and 

temperance, the two greatest sins. Even down to the customs 
latest days, a large proportion of the Romans never lost these 
primitive virtues, but, in spite of them, the city was contam- 
inated by men who no longer guarded their family name as 



338 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



the most sacred thing on earth ; family ties were loosened, and 
vice and immorality took hold on the city so rapidly that even 
the most callous were frightened. 

Where simplicity in dress and furniture had formerly been 
the rule, extravagance and the height of luxury became too 




Interior of a Roman House. (Restoration.) 

common. People copied the houses of the later Greeks, with 
their rich hangings and costly mosaics ; in place of the simple 
tunic and the ceremonial toga (a shawl-like garment, pictures, 
pp. 349, 379), highly colored garments and gaudy ornaments 
were affected by many Romans. Owing 
to the climate, no elaborate system of 
heating was necessary ; ordinarily a 
brazier of charcoal sufficed to keep the 
house warm ; rarely a system of hot 
air pipes was introduced. In the day- 
time the house was lighted from the inner courtyard ; at night 
candles and lamps illuminated the various living rooms. 




Lamp. 



INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 



339 



Even to the latest days, the Greeks were saved from 
vulgar extravagances by their highly artistic taste; but to 
the fashionable Roman, the most important ques- 
tion was not how he might best beautify his sur- 
roundings, but how he could best spend his money 
in ostentatious adornment. 

Another evidence of Roman extravagance is 
found in the increasing grandeur of Roman 
funerals. After death, the body of a Roman 
noble was anointed and arrayed in his garments 
of state. On the day of the burial, the waxen or 
silver images of the deceased and his ancestors 
were withdrawn from the family altar and carried 
in the funeral procession to the Forum, where a 
eulogy of the deceased was pronounced by the 
nearest male relative. From the Forum the pro- 
cession moved on again beyond the city walls, 
where the body was either burned or buried. 
Costly tombs and monuments, the ruins of which 
may still be seen to-day (picture, p. 266), were 
erected to commemorate the greatness of the dead. 

At table, especially, the tendency toward luxury 
showed itself. Greek cooks and Greek treatises 
on cooking were introduced, till the rich and extravagant 
Roman made it his proudest boast that he could tell — 




A jack pike taken at the Tiber's mouth 
From one between the bridges caught." 



Horace, 
Satires, 

a. 2 



Elaborate banquets were prepared, hosts of guests were sum- 
moned, and the ends of the earth were scoured for strange 
and unusual foods. Games, dancing, and gymnastic sports 
were introduced to gratify the guests; where the Greek had 
appealed to the intellect at table, the Roman appealed to the 
senses. 



340 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



349. Idle- 
ness the 
curse of 
Rome 



From idling at home to idling in the Forum was but another 
step. Honors gained in the service of the state were no longer 
the ambition of these extravagant Komans ; either they 
devoted themselves entirely to pleasure, or they aspired 
to live by politics from which they and not the state 
should profit. 

What the rich affected, the poor soon learned to imitate. 
Before long, the average citizen was no longer content to view 
once or twice a year the games and athletic exercises which 
were celebrated in honor of the gods ; instead, he demanded 
such sports as the baiting of wild animals, and, in the end, 
the fierce gladiatorial shows for which Eome in later times 
became so famous. 

Once again we must add that there were still virtuous people 
in Rome who lived simply, who served the state honestly, and 
who refrained from all the debasing vices introduced from the 
east ; it was they who saved Rome from speedy destruction, 
but unfortunately we know little of their life. 

As the introduction of Hellenism had its most vicious effects 
on Roman customs, so it had its most beneficent effects on 
education, 
as the Ro- 
was dealing 
with the people of the 
Italian peninsula, he felt 
no need for an education 
which should do more 
for him than to develop 
him into a good soldier ; 
like the Spartan, he 

learned to respect authority, to bow his head to an iron disci- 
pline, and to endure the hardships of war without complaining. 
But the new policy which, led the Roman to interfere in the 
affairs of the entire Mediterranean world required an intellec- 



350. 

Changes in 
Eoman 
education man 



Roman 
So lon.2 




Marble Table. 



INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 341 

tual training of which the Eoman, up to this time, had never 
dreamed. Consequently he procured for his sons " mas- 
ters to teach them grammar, logic, and rhetoric ; precep- yEmilius 
tors in modeling and drawing ; managers of horses and Paulus 

dogs; and instructors in field sports: all from Greece." 
Slowly the more serious-minded citizens set themselves to 
acquire everything in science, philosophy, and literature which 
the Greeks had to offer, till a knowledge of Greek and the 
ability to use it became a part of the training of every edu- 
cated Eoman. 

Unfortunately, too many of the people disregarded what 
Greece had to offer in the way of a higher education, and con- 
sequently the lower classes descended rapidly into a vulgar 
mob, while many of the. upper classes became steeped in such 
luxury and vice as the Greeks had never reached in the cen- 
turies of decay. Yet to the few men who were strong enough 
to resist this temptation, who saw the good and noble in Greek 
art and literature, and set themselves resolutely to acquire it, 
the modern world owes a debt of the highest gratitude ; for it 
was they who preserved and handed down to later generations 
those things in art and literature which have made Greece so 
famous throughout the ages. 

In its beginnings, Eoman poetical literature — if we may 
call those works literature which were translated for educa- 
tional purposes — was the handmaiden of education. „,, „ 

351. Early 
From the days of the Pyrrhic war, the knowledge of Roman 

Greek was gradually diffused throughout the better literature 
classes. As time went on and the Eoman came to recognize 
the necessity for an education more extended than that of his 
ancestors, the Greek instructors in grammar, rhetoric, and 
oratory found no Latin literature from which to draw their 
examples ; and therefore they began to translate works from 
the Greek to be used in the schools. Among the first works 
thus made available was the Odyssey of Homer, translated by ' 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. — 21 



342 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Andronicus, a Greek slave. Many others followed in his 
steps. 

Next in point of development came the drama. Here again 
the Romans lacked entirely the poetic genius which had en- 

352 The abled the Greeks to produce such masterpieces as the 
Koman tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides, and the comedies 

of Aristophanes. The Romans never had a native 
drama ; the Roman comedies, which were very popular to the 
end, were mere translations, or more properly adaptations, 
from the Greek. The dramatists, who were almost invariably 
Greek slaves or freedmen, selected for translation the works of 
the later playwrights like Menander and his school. To make 
these works fit for the Roman stage, changes in character, 
situations, and plot were necessary, and in the change the 
comedies lost most of the literary value which they origi- 
nally had. Among the 
many writers of this 
y'/^l i^Si) ^^^^h0yy comedy, between 250 and 

fm ^^i^ \!^ 150 B.C., only two have 

Actors' Masks from Pompeii. ■, n, , , • i • v 

left a reputation which 

even approaches greatness : Plautus, who died in 184 e.g., and 

Terence, who was born about the time that Plautus died. 

Though the Romans in the time of the early republic never 

produced any really great poetry, the history of prose literature 

353 E rlv P^^^^^^^ some eminent names. Of the earliest times 
prose only a few fragments of meager chronicles, genealogical 
wri ers records, and public documents now exist. In the period 

of the first Punic war, we come upon the first works which 
have any pretensions to literary form : the annals, written 
first in Greek, later in Latin, by men of noble families like 
Fabius Pictor and Publius Scipio, son of Scipio Africanus, 
to exalt the honor of their city and the glory of their family 
name. Thenceforward, the list of prose writings grows larger 
and larger with each succeeding year. In the time of the 




INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 343 

second Punic war and the wars of conquest in the east, the 

most eminent writer was that Cato of whom we have already 

heard. Most famous of his works were his histories and his 

orations, none of which, however, have been preserved in more 

than fragmentary form. 

'- Having little creative genius, the Eomans acquired Mathews 

their art in much the same way that they acquired their ^tory of, 

-A-Vchitec- 
provinces — that is, by conquest." In her whole history ture, ch.vH. 

Rome produced not a single artist of world-wide fame 354. The 
like Phidias and Praxiteles. The reason is simple : the conserva^ 
intensely practical nature of the Roman never idealized tors of art 
anything but power, law, and profit ; a thing had no value to 
him beyond what it would bring in the gold of commerce. 
With the Greek every trade was an art, everything that he 
touched he beautified ; with the Roman every art was a trade, 
what he created invariably had a definite commercial value. 
Nevertheless, out of Tarentum, out of Syracuse, out of Corinth, 
the works of art which the centuries had created were trans- 
ported to Rome. Ultimately, the imperial city became the 
home of thousands of art treasures gathered from all parts of 
the ancient world, and though Rome never appreciated them in 
the spirit in which they were created, she preserved many of 
them for the enjoyment of future ages. 

As to Roman architecture, a little more than this must be 
said. Though the Romans never created a distinctive style 
of their own, like the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles of 
Greece; though they borrowed either from the Etruscans or 
from the Greeks, still, in the course of time, many magnificent 
monuments of skill and patience were created. Enormous 
buildings, imperishable aqueducts, roads and bridges, magnifi- 
cent arches and commemorative columns, were erected within 
the city and in the surrounding territory ; till even to-day all 
Italy and much of Europe besides bear witness to the thorough- 
ness and industry of the Roman architects and builders. 



344 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 




'^^^^^BH 




Doric. Ionic. Corinthian. 

The Three Orders of Architecture. 

The conquest of the east had a double effect. It served to 
transport to Rome the civilization of the Hellenic world, and 
355. Sum- thus to diffuse throughout the west the treasures of the 
^^^7 Greek mind and genius, much as the conquests of Alex- 

ander had diffused those treasures through the east. Unfortu- 
nately, the Greek culture which the Romans inherited was 
deeply tinctured with the weaknesses of a decadent civiliza- 
tion ; ,and thus, while the Romans learned much that was good 
from the Greeks, they also accepted much that was bad. 
Their best acquisition was the treasure of literary and graphic 
art which they imported bodily from Greece ; with these as 
models, they built up in time a native literature of some merit 
and a stately and imposing national architecture. 



Suggestive 
topics 



TOPICS 

(1) With what modern people would you compare the old 
Romans ? (2) Why did not the Romans develop an art of their 
own ? (3) Compare the early religion of Rome with what you have 



INFLUX OF EASTERN MANNERS 



345 



learned about the early Greek religion. (4) Is war likely to lead 
to morality or immorality ? Explain and show how Rome was an 
example. (5) Does any nation of modern times resemble Rome in 
love of war and mastery of weaker nations ? (6) Does any modern 
nation resemble Greece in manners and love of art ? (7) Since the 
Romans did not devote themselves to art and literature, upon what 
did they spend their time in time of peace ? (8) Why did not the 
Romans produce more poetry ? 

(9) From a study of illustrations in this and other books, can 
you detect the changes made by the Romans in the Greek architec- 
ture ? (10) Roman fondness for Greek works of art. (11) Slave 
market in Rome. (12) Roman admiration for Greek litera- 
ture. (13) A Roman temple ceremonial. (14) Roman dress. 
(15) A Roman dinner. (10) Roman funerals. (17) Roman 
tombs. 

REFERENCES 



Search 
topics 



How and Leigh, History of Eome, chs. xxviii.-xxx, ; Shuckburgh, Modern 
History of Borne, chs. xxi. xxvi. xxxii. ; INIommsen, History of Borne, ^^ onties 
bk. iii. chs. xi.-xiv. ; Ihne, History of Borne, bk. vi. ; Allcroft and 
Masom, Rome tinder the Oligarchs, chs. x. xi.; Fowler, City-State, 
ch. viii. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. iii. ch. iii. ; 
Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Borne, chs. vii, viii.; 
Duruy, History of Borne (I. II.), chs. xxii.-xxxv. xliv.; Mathews, 
Story of Architecture, pp. 186 ff. 

See sources under chapter xxvi. ; Horace, Odes, Satires, Epistles. Sources 




Roman Table. 



CHAPTEE XXVIII. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION: THE GRACCHI 
(133-121 B.C.) 

So long as the Koman armies had been confined in their opera- 
tions to the peninsula of Italy, the Senate and magistrates had 
356. Gov- found an efficient mode of organization for the conquered 
b^°S^^* territory. Had they been able to establish a system 
nobility equally wise for the government of their foreign pos- 

sessions, the revolution, the history of which we are about to 
study, would probably never have taken place. 

That the constitutional development beyond the peninsula 
did not keep pace with the conquest of territory was due to 
the constantly narrowing tendency of the government. The 
Licinian law (3G7 b.c.) had, in theory, opened the higher 
magistracies to all plebeians; in reality, but few of the ple- 
beians ever enjoyed the privileges thus granted. All elections 
and all legislative action in the Comitia Centuriata were con- 
trolled by the magistrates, who could block proceedings by 
declaring that the conduct of the assembly was contrary to 
the will of the gods. Furthermore, candidates for office were 
regularly presented to the assembly by the consuls; thus only 
such citizens as had won their approval could be placed in 
nomination for office. In this way, within a generation or two 
after the passage of the law, a new nobility grew up, consist- 
ing of the old patrician families and a few plebeian families 
whom the patrician consuls favored ; and within the ranks of 
this new nobility all the higher magistracies were distributed. 
Only once or twice in a generation did any one outside the 
charmed circle succeed in rising to an important position in 

346 



THE GRACCHI 347 

the state. Thus the government was still in the hands of an 
oligarchy. 

The power of the oligarchy might yet have been consider- 
ably checked had the assemblies continued to be vigorous 
political bodies ; but for various reasons they lost ground, 357. Deca- 
and the tendency was more and more to throw all power dence of 
into the hands of the Senate. The principal causes of this assemblies 
unfortunate state of things were the scattering of the popula- 
tion due to the extension of the Ager Romanus (see map, p. 264); 
the fact that the citizens Avho lived upon the farms distant 
from the city seldom attended the meetings of the assemblies ; 
and tlie constant deterioration of the city population, due to 
causes which will soon appear, which made it possible for the 
nobility to secure whatever legislation they desired by the use of 
bribes. In the Senate, the few noble families reigned supreme ; 
and on the lists apj^eared only the names of ex-magistrates, 
who came in time to sit in the Senate by right of office, and 
the names of such other members of the nobility as the censors 
saw fit to admit. As the assemblies declined, the Senate grew 
in power, till, by the middle of the second century B.C., " a Pohjhius, 
person staying in Eome when the consuls were not in ^^- ^^ 

town, might easily imagine that the constitution was a com- 
plete aristocracy with the Senate in control." 

Out of these conditions there grew in time two new parties : 
the optimates, who stood for the maintenance of the oli- 
garchy ; and the popidares, who demanded ostensibly such 
reforms as would admit to a real share in the government all 
tliose vho were excluded. In reality, the only thing which 
separated the two parties was the fact that the optimates 
controlled all the offices and privileges incident thereto, and 
sought to keep them ; the popiilares were deprived of office 
and were anxious to share in the plunder. 

Had the privileges which the senatorial party enjoyed been 
confined to the government of Italy, some remedy for the 



348 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

growing evils might still have been found ; but the extension 
of Roman dominion beyond the seas greatly increased the ad- 

358. Gov- vantages to be gained by belonging to the ruling party, 
ernment ^^^^ therefore the optimates fought with all their might 
provinces to maintain their monopoly. 

In the provinces, the absolutely supreme authority was the 
governor, invariably a proconsul or a propraetor — that is, a 
man who had held the office of consul or praetor in some 
previous year. At first, the governors conducted themselves 
with the dignity and uprightness which were characteristic of 
the ancient Roman, but in time this tradition changed. From 
the first, the provinces owed the city an annual tribute, and 
custom prescribed that the inhabitants should bestow upon 
the governors certain gifts and dues necessary for the main- 
tenance of their dignity. Owing to the deterioration in the 
Roman character which is noticed in the last chapter, the 
opportunity for plunder through these tributes, and through 
the gifts and dues offered to the governor, became irresistible ; 
and extortion and illegal charges became the rule. Against 
these extortions, the provincial had but little remedy, for, like 
all Roman magistrates, the governors were free from trial till 
the end of their term of office; therefore, the provincial who 
wished to make a complaint must wait till the governor 
returned to Rome. Even then, if the great cost of travel for 
himself and his witnesses did not deter him, he must expect 
scanty justice, since the court which tried the offender was 
the Senate ; and in the Senate sat the relatives and friends of 
the governor, and those who hoped some day to be governors 
themselves. Therefore, in most cases, the provincials preferred 
to suffer in silence ; and the looting went on undisturbed. 

The reaction upon Italy of such conditions in the prov- 

«.« -^ ., inces was inevitable. The Roman, master of the earth, 

359. Evil ' ' 
effects in who heeded so little the rights of the provincial, could 

^^^^ scarcely be expected to be considerate in his dealings 



THE GRACCHI 



349 



with his allies in Italy. Violence and intimidation in the 
peninsula followed on violence and intimidation in the prov- 
inces, till Italy was little better off than the w^orld beyond the 
peninsula. 

The loss in effective administration was not the worst symp- 
tom of decay. The twelve or fourteen years which Hannibal 

had spent in Italy created conditions from which Eome „«^ ^ 

^ -^ 360. Decay 

never recovered. Year after year the fields were devas- of the peas- 
tated; year after year the Roman and Italian youths antry 

were sacrificed in battle, till few able-bodied men were left to 
cultivate the soil. 

When the second Punic war was over, the era of rapid 
conquest in the east began. That conquest had two impor- 
tant economic effects. 



I 



In the first place, the 
raising of grain in 
Italy ceased to be 
profitable ; the prov- 
inces could supply 
food stuffs far more 
cheaply; consequently, 
Italy became more and 
more an untilled coun- 
try as time went on. 

„ ^ ^^, , . .. ^ The small farmer, who 

The Gracchi. (Ideal portraits.) 

had once lived con- 
tentedly on his few acres, abandoned his fields or sold them 
to the rich noble. Large cattle ranches and extensive olive 
plantations sprang up where the small farms had been, till, in 
the year 133 b.c, Tiberius Gracchus, of whom we shall hear 
more in the next pages, declared, "The savage beasts 
in Italy have their particular dens ; but the men who Tiberius 
bear arms and expose their lives for the safety of their 
country enjoy nothing more than the air and light." 




350 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

The second effect of the rapid foreign conquests was the 
extension of the institution of slavery. As a result of the 
wars, thousands of slaves poured into Italy ; at Delos in 
tension of the ^gean, the great slave market, ten thousand slaves 
s ave labor ^^.^ ^^-^ ^^ have been sold in a single day. Slave labor 
was cheaper than free labor, and consequently the plantation 
owners offered no employment in their fields for the dis- 
possessed farmers. In the city, conditions were no better: 
the Komans had never been a manufacturing people, and now 
that the provinces ministered to their wants, industrial devel- 
opment was checked by the importation of articles of utility 
and luxury from lands beyond the sea. 

Thus the average Eoman freeman, with his chances for 
honest labor cut off in the country and in the city, was forced 
into one or the other of two dependent positions. Either he 
joined the army and spent his days in the camp and field ; 
or he drifted into the city, where he lived on the bounty of 
the state or of the noble senator who had grown rich at his 
expense. 

The last hope of peaceful reform disappeared as these hosts 
of idle men gradually overran the city. Many of them were 
Eoman citizens and therefore had a right to participate in the 
deliberations of the assemblies. That they would exercise 
this right wisely could hardly be expected; all they wanted 
was to live in idleness, and consequently the man who was 
willing to i^ay the price might have their votes in the 
assembly. 

The high-handed methods of the nobles, and the deterioration 

of the lower classes, combined to prevent an effective reor- 
362. Agra- ' ^ 

rian re- ganization of the state. Still, there were those who hoped 

forms of £qj, }3etter results: by their efforts, a court of senators 

Tibenus -^ 

Gracchus was set up for the trial of returning governors ; a system 

(133 B.C.) ^£ secret ballot, designed to break up bribery and corrup- 
tion, was provided in the assemblies ; and several other reforms 



THE GRACCHI 351 

were secured. None of these remedies, however, struck at 
the root of the evils. To rejuvenate the constitution, two 
radical reforms were necessary: first, the city rabble must 
be dissipated and set to some honest labor ; second, the ex- 
cessive power of the Senate must be broken. If these changes 
could be brought about, the republic might yet hope to live ; 
if not, the doom of the old constitution was sealed. 

To the work of reform there now came a young man almost 
wholly untried in the field of politics, — Tiberius Gracchus. 
Connected by ties of sympathy and relationship with the 
better class of the Roman nobility, descended through his 
mother, Cornelia, from Scipio Af ricanus, he had been brought up 
to regard the welfare of his country as the noblest aim in life. 

In December, 134 B.C., he was elected tribune. Early in the 
next year, he brought before the Comitia Tributa Plebis a 
law for the redistribution of the public lands which in its 
main features was but a revival of the agrarian provisions of 
the Licinian law. The new statute provided that all public 
lands in the possession of private holders should be resumed 
by the state and redistributed among the poorer citizens in 
small lots. Henceforth, no man was to be allowed to hold 
more than five hundred jugera (about three hundred acres), 
except that a man who had sons might retain two hundred and 
fifty jugera for each son, the total not to exceed one thousand. 
To carry out the provisions of the law, a commission of three 
was to be appointed by the assembly. 

Against this law, the nobles made most violent objections. 
In the first place, it was introduced without the consent of 
the Senate, a method entirely opposed to the spirit of the 
constitution as it had been interpreted for many years past ; 
in the second place, it would work great injury to many 
innocent men, who for generations had enjoyed the privilege 
of unlimited holdings, and had improved the land as though 
it were their own. 



352 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Appian, ^' Ii^ ^1^6 oldeii clays," says the historian Appian, "the 

Civil Wars, plebeians and the Senate had often been at strife with 

i. introd. 

363. Begin- each other concerning the enactment of laws. . . . Their 

ning of the (dissensions and contests, however, were always within 
reign of 7 7 j 

force the law, and were always compassed by mutual conces- 

sion and with much respect for each other." 

Times Avere now changed : as a champion of the Senate, 
there arose in the Comitia Tributa Plebis a tribune named 
Octavius, who vetoed all the proposals of Tiberius Gracchus. 
Instead of biding his time and waiting for another year, as 
the tribunes of earlier days would have done, Tiberius at once 
resorted to force and had Octavius deposed from office, an 
absolutely unconstitutional act. With his fellow-tribune out 
of the way, Tiberius succeeded in forcing the agrarian law 
through ; the commission was appointed, and the work of 
distribution begun. 

The unlawful action of Tiberius Gracchus was an act of 
revolution. Whether the law was good or bad, whether Ti- 
berius was right or wrong in believing that a new peasant 
population was to be created in Italy, and the commonwealth 
saved, it still remains true that he was the first to violate 
the ancient constitution. 

The Senate was not slow to follow his example. As the 
day for the election of 133 b.c. approached, it became evident 
that it would be a time of violence ; consequently, Tiberius 
surrounded himself with a bodyguard drawn from among the 
city rabble. At the election, the parties struggled for two 
days for the mastery. Though the constitution forbade a 
tribune to stand for reelection, Tiberius was a candidate, and, 
had the assembly had its way, would probably have been 
elected. On the second day, however, the two parties came 
to blows, and in the struggle Tiberius and many of his fol- 
Paterculus, lowers were killed. "This," says Paterculus, "was the 
a. 3 beginning of civil bloodshed, and freedom from punish- 



THE GRACCHI 353 

ment, for him who used the sword in Rome. Henceforth, 
right was opposed by strength, . . . disputes were settled by 
the sword, and wars were undertaken, not for honorable rea- 
sons, but for private gain." 

Henceforth civil war was to be the ultimate mode of settling 
quarrels between the parties; nevertheless peace for a time 
followed upon the death of Gracchus. The work of 354 pail- 

the commission went on, and a few citizens were pro- ^^® °^ l'^® 

agrarian 
vided with farms. In the end, however, the commission laws 

proposed to distribute the public lands which were in the 
hands of the allies, and then Scipio ^milianus, the leader of 
the moderates, who at first had supported Tiberius, interfered. 
By his influence, a law was passed withdrawing the distribu- 
tion from the commission and giving it into the hands of 
the consul. 

As the consul was hostile to the whole scheme, he allowed 
the law to fall into abeyance, and thenceforth no more lands 
were given to the poor. A few thousand people had been 
provided with homesteads, it is true, but thousands were still 
without farms, and the city rabble was still a menace to the 
state. Thus the work of Tiberius Gracchus was almost a 
total failure. The reaction was more than a mere setback 
to a rising reform ; it was a confession that Rome was help- 
less to better or maintain her government by peaceful and 
lawful means, that the fruit of centuries of patience, sacri- 
fice, and observance of law was to be swept away by the reign 
of brute force. 

Ten years after the death of Tiberius, in 123 b.c. Gains 
Gracchus, his brother, was elected tribune. His education, 
like that of his brother, had led him to despise the vul- 355 Qaius 
gar pleasures in which the men of his order so com- Gracchus 
monly indulged ; like his brother, he had his heart set upon 
remedying those evils which threatened the very existence of 
the state. He brought to his task talents far higher than 



354 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

those of Tiberius ; he had a much clearer view of the reforms 
necessary for the betterment of the government; and in all 
probability he did not deceive himself about the difficulty of 
his task. Unfortunately for his good fame and for the well- 
being of Eome, he came to his work with mixed motives : 
undoubtedly he desired to better the condition of the people; 
but it is equally true that he was swayed in his actions by 
his desire for revenge for the death of his brother. 

In the interval between 133 and 123 B.C. a law had been 
passed which made it legal for a tribune to seek reelection as 
often as he chose. Gains therefore anticipated no trouble in 
holding office year after year for an indefinite period, and as 
tribune he hoped to sway the people to do his bidding with 
unquestioning fidelity. If, as he hoped, he could hold the 
good will of the people, no man could be elected to office, no 
law could be passed, without his sanction. Thus he would be 
the master of the city and could accomplish in time his 
schemes for revenge antl his plans for the betterment of the 
people. 

From 123 to 121 e.g. he worked with unceasing activity. 
First, he passed a law — generally known as the corn law — 
366. Gaius which gave to any citizen who cared to enroll himself 
Gracchus the right to purchase each month, at greatly reduced 
by the rates, enough grain to support himself and his family. 

rabble Thus the rabble of the city was to be taken care of. 

Whether Gracchus carried the law from a sincere desire to 
aid the poor of the city, or from a desire to gain their alle- 
giance in the struggle with the Senate which he was about to 
inaugurate, the effect was evil. He paved the way, by this 
distribution of grain, for the destruction of the last vestiges 
of self-respect among his poorer fellow-citizens. When a 
man could live by the bounty of the state, it was unreason- 
able to expect him to make vigorous efforts to support himself. 
This law was followed by others of a similar character. To 



THE GRACCHI 



355 



Gracchus 

supported 

by the 

knights 



lighten the burdens of the soldiers, reforms in the organization 
of the army were made. To provide for those who were still 
anxious to live by farming, a number of colonies were to be 
established in Italy and beyond the seas. 

By these laws, the favor of the poorer citizens was gained. 
The next step was to create a rift in the union between the 
nobles and the rich commoners, the bankers of ancient 367. Gaius 
Kome. These commoners were known as equites (knights), 
because in earlier times they had been able by their wealth 
to equip themselves as horsemen in the army. To gain 
their favor, Gracchus carried through the Comitia Tributa 
Plebis a law which took out of the hands of 
the Senate all control of the courts, and trans- 
ferred it to the equites. Henceforth, the re- 
turning governor of a province could not hope 
to be tried by men of his own order, and 
therefore, if the knights did their duty, he 
could no longer expect to carry on his dep- 
redations in the province with immu- 
nity. This reform, as it proved, was 
of little permanent value ; for the 
knights, too, learned to take bribes, 

and the provincials sank back into 

, . Roman Knight. (Pompeii.) 

despair. 

Throughout the history of the republic, it was the practice 
of the government, instead of collecting its own taxes as we 
do to-day, to sell the revenues of each province to the highest 
bidder, who was then free to collect the taxes as he pleased. 
To bind the equites still closer to his cause, Gracchus now car- 
ried a law which provided that the revenues of the provinces, 
which had heretofore been sold in the provinces themselves, 
should hereafter be sold at Rome. As the equites were the 
financiers and bankers of Rome, they alone would profit by 
this change. Thus, with the courts and the financial admin- 




356 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Appian istration in the hands of the equites, '4t shortly came 
Civil Wars, about that the political mastery was turned upside down : 

i 3 22 

' the power was all in the hands of the knights, the honor 

only remained to the Senate." 

The two years from 123 to 121 b.c. are notable for the pas- 
sage of these and many other laws. Toward the end of his second 
368. The year of office, Gracchus made his first political mistake. 

fatal mis- jjg proposed a law extending Roman citizenship to the 

talcs 01 

Gaius Italian allies, — an idea which had been floating in the 

Gracchus minds of various reformers for several years. At once 

the rabble rebelled ; the privileges of Eoman citizenship, with 

the monthly distributions of grain, were far too great to be 

lightly thrown to the Italian allies. 

The Senate saw its opportunity, and hastened to take it. 

Marcus Livius Drusus, a colleague of Gracchus in the tribuni- 

369 End of ^^^^^ office, became the willing tool of the nobles, and 

Gaius where Gracchus offered the people grain at low prices, he 

offered it for nothing ; where Gracchus offered lands for 

colonization beyond the sea, he offered lands in Italy. Thus 

he won the voters over to his side, and when the election came 

round once more, Gracchus was defeated and retired to private 

life. Instead of submitting quietly and waiting for another 

chance, he now proceeded to violence, like his brother before 

him. The Senate took up the gage, and in the riots which 

followed Gracchus was killed, and the nobles, supported for 

the moment by the fickle rabble, were once more in complete 

control. 

Thus died the second of the brothers. '• However much we 

may extol his nobility of mind," says a German historian, 

Ih H- " ^^^ purity and unselfishness of his motives, his self- 

of Rome, devoting courage, we can not place him among the 

ch^vi gi'eat men who shine in history as the benefactors of 

mankind." Too much that he did tended to debase the 

people of Rome ; his corn law, especially, opened the way to 



THE GRACCHI 357 

the complete pauperization of the rabble, which had already 
become a constant menace to the safety of the state. 



With Tiberius and Gains Gracchus began the era of civil 
violence and political revolution which ended only when, a 
hundred years later, the republic ceased to exist. Both 370. sum- 
men found conditions in the provinces and in Italy which ^^^'y 

cried out loudly for reform. Both were probably actuated by 
motives far more sincere than those of most of the men of their 
day ; but for securing their ends both used methods which were 
bound to lead to open violence and murder; and both paid the 
penalty for their temerity with their lives. The elder had 
hoped to regenerate the state by recreating an Italian peas- 
antry ; the younger to revolutionize affairs by breaking the - 
power of the Senate and admitting the knights to a share in 
the government. Both failed. Henceforth, for a hundred 
years, the history of Rome is the history of the decline and 
fall of the Roman republic. Yet this period of civic decline 
is coincident with the greatest growth of the Roman territory. 
Rome the republic was fast ceasing to exist ; and yet the 
expansion of the Roman dominions was still going on with 
unchecked rapidity. 

TOPICS 

(1) In what way did the system of organizing conquered ter- Suggestive 
ritory in Italy differ from that in lands outside of Italy ? (2) Were topics 
the optimates and populares political parties in our sense of the 
word ? (3) Was it possible to carry out the two reforms advo- 
cated by the Gracchi ? (4) Why did not Tiberius Gracchus con- 
sult the Senate before he framed his proposed law ? (5) How long 
did Licinius urge his law before it was passed ? Why did not 
Tiberius Gracchus act in a like manner ? (6) Was the unconstitu- 
tional means employed by Tiberius Gracchus justifiable ? To what 
result did it lead, and what form of government naturayy followed ? 
(7) Why was the system vicious which allowed a tribune to hold 
office repeatedly ? (8) Why was the free distribution of grain a 
bad thing ? (9) Why were the reforms of Gains Gracchus in re- 
gard to the equites a failure ? (10) The Gracchi are called both 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 22 



358 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



Search 
topics 



reformers and demagogues. Explain why. (11) Would it have 
been advisable to give Roman citizenship to the allies ? Explain. 

(12) System of farming the revenues. (13) Methods of dis- 
tributing grain to the poor citizens. (14) Power of the censors. 
(15) Abuses of provincial government. (16) Romans sold as 
slaves for debt. (17) Election riots in Rome. 



Geography 

Modern 

authorities 



Sources 



REFERENCES 

See map, p. 264. 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xxxi.-xxxiv. ; Shuck- 
burgh, History of Borne, ch. xxxv. ; Mommsen, History of Borne, 
bk. iv. chs. ii. iii. ; Ihne, History of Borne, bk. vii. chs. i.-vi. ; 
Beesly, The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla, chs. i.-iii. ; Allcroft and 
Masom, Borne under the Oligarchs, chs. xii.-xiv. ; Pelham, Outlines 
of B Oman History, bk. iv. ch. 1. ; Taylor, Constitutional and Politi- 
cal History of Borne, ch. ix. ; Duruy, History of Borne (II. III.), 
chs. xxxvi.-xxxviii. ; F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Institutions, 
ch. vi. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 24 ; Plutarch, Lives, Tiberius Gracchus, 
Gains Gracchus, ^milius Paulus ; Appian, Civil Wai's, bk. i. chs. 
1-3 ; Livy, Epitome, bks. Ivi. Iviii.-lxi. ; Floras, Epitome, bk. iii. 
chs. xiv. XV. ; Velleius Paterculus, bk. ii. chs. 2-9 ; Diodorus, frag- 
ment of bk. xxxiv.; Polybius, bk. iii. ch. 4. 



CHAPTER XXTX. 

THE EFFECT OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE CITY AND THE 
DEPENDENCIES: MARIUS AND SULLA (121-79 B.C.) 

" So the sedition of the younger Gracchus came to an Appian, 

end," says Appian. "Xot long afterward, a law was ^'^^''^^.^^a^J^ 

enacted permitting landholders to sell the land which 371 qq^_ 

they had ciuarreled about ; . . . presently, the rich bouo'ht ernment by 

^ ^ ' ^ ^' . ^ the restored 

the allotments of the i)Oor, or found pretexts for seizing optimates 

them by force. Thus the condition of the poor became even 

worse than it had been before." 

The optimates were in power once more, but their au!;hority 
was no longer what it had once been ; they were forced both 
to cater to the city rabble and to placate the knights. Dis- 
organization and corruption became so common that by the end 
of the century Jugurtha, king of iS'umidia, on one occasion, 
when he was visiting Rome, declared that " the whole Appian, Nu- 
dity of Rome could be bought, if only a purchaser could midia,i.2 
be found to bid for it." Within the city and the peninsula, 
the government of the nobles was too often marked by extor- 
tion and injustice; in the dependencies, the honor of the 
imperial city was sacrificed, till even the poorest provincial 
came to hate and despise his masters. 

The depravity of the optimates was shown in the dealings 

of the Senate with the king of Numidia. Numidia, as we may 

remember, had been settled upon Massinissa and his de- 372. The 

scendants at the end of the second Punic war in 201 b.c. J^&^y* ^^ 

war (111- 

In the last years of the second century b.c. there arose in 105 B.C.) 
the land a new man, Jugurtha, an illegitimate descendant of jMas- 
sinissa. By intrigue and murder and by a liberal use of money 

359 



360 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



among the Roman senators, he succeeded in removing, one by 
one, the legitimate claimants to the throne. Protest after pro- 
test against his conduct was sent to Rome ; but each time the 
glitter of his gold blinded the eyes of the optimates, and the 
usurper was left free to carry on his schemes. At last, in 111 
B.C., popular indignation rose to such a pitch in Rome that the 
Senate could no longer resist, and war was declared against 
Jugurtha. 

At first, the Roman arms met with nothing but reverses ; but 
in 109 B.C. the command fell to the consul Metellus, " a man 

Sallnet, of energy, and, though 

Jugurthan an opponent of the 

War, xliii. pop^ia^r party, yet of 

a character uniformly irre- 
proachable." Under his 
leadership, the fortunes of 
Rome soon revived, and 
Jugurtha was reduced to 
guerrilla warfare. 

In the army of Metellus, 
second in command to the 

373. Gaius consul, was Gains 

Marius Marius, the son of a 

poor day laborer, who had 
risen from the ranks. At 
the end of the campaign 
in 107 B.C. Marius aspired 
to become consul for the 
next year so that he might be first in command. Metellus 
naturally objected ; nevertheless, he was ultimately forced to 
grant Marius leave of absence so that he might go to Rome to 
stand for office. In 106 b.c. Marius returned to Africa as 
consul and succeeded Metellus. Still the war dragged on till 
105 B.C., and then Lucius Cornelius Sulla, of whom we shall 




" Marius." 
Vatican, Rome. 



MARIUS AND SULLA 861 

hear much more in the next few years, succeeded in capturing 

Jugurtha, and the war came to a speedy end. 

While the jSTumidian war was dragging out its weary length 

in Africa, serious trouble was threatening Rome on the north. 

From the marshes and forests of Germany, a horde of 374. Inva- 

savage tribes, known as the Cimbri and Teutones, had ^}°^ °^ *^t 
^ ' ' Cimbn and 

swept down into the lands to the north and west of Teutones 
Italy, and during the Jugurthan war these hordes had come 
to be the black terror of Rome. General after general had 
been sent out against them, but no one had as yet succeeded 
in defeating them. In 105 b.c. Marius returned from Africa, 
and in him the people saw their last hope of salvation. Year 
after year he was elected consul, though such continuance in 
oJSice was contrary to the spirit of the constitution, in* antici- 
pation of the coming of the Cimbri and Teutones. For three 
years he worked unceasingly, reorganizing and drilling his 
army, and then, in 102 b.c, he marched north into Gaul to 
meet the enemy. 

Meanwhile, the barbarians had separated into two hordes 
with the intention of invading Italy simultaneously from the 
west and north. At Aquae Sextise in southern Gaul, ^larius 
came upon the first of these hordes and engaged them in battle: 
the struggle was fierce, but the training of the legions told, and 
the Germans were completely defeated. Hastening back to 
Italy, Marius arrived just in time to save his colleague, Cat- 
ulus, from defeat. On the Raudian Plain, near Vercellae, the 
Romans and the Teutones met in the final battle. Again the 
struggle was fierce, but again the Romans were victorious. 
Not only was the German invasion checked, but the power of 
the Germans was so broken that for more than five centuries 
no German army again entered Italy. While the danger 
lasted, the terror of Rome was extreme ; when the danger was 
over, one grand result remained: Marius had become the 
greatest man in Rome. 



362 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Had Marius died in 101 B.C., he would have come down in 

history as one of the greatest heroes of the republic, a second 

375. Satur- Komulus or Camillus ; unfortunately for his future fame, 

ninus and ^le now aspired to take a hand in civil affairs. A man of 

Glaucia ^ 

(100 B.C.) the people, rough and outspoken, with none of the graces 

or finesse which go to make a successful politician, he was as 
poor a leader in civil affairs as he had been a good commander 
in war. Ambitious for power, he allied himself with two men 
who were, at the moment, the leaders of the populares, — 
Saturninus, a violent enemy of the Senate, and Glaucia, a low 
Cicero politician, " of all mortals, the most perverse, shrewd, and 

Brutus, 62 cunning." In 100 B.C. Marius divided with them the 
offices of the state: he himself became consul for the sixth 
time, (jrlaucia became praetor, and Saturninus reserved for him- 
self the tribunate. 

In their year of office, the three men carried, without any 
• regard to the constitution, a series of laws which resembled 
in many ways the statutes which the Gracchi had enacted a 
generation before. However good many of their measures may 
have been, their methods w^ere entirely unjustifiable. Before 
the year was over, the rabble had turned against Saturninus 
and Glaucia because they were supporting measures in favor 
of the rural plebeians ; the Senate bitterly opposed all the re- 
forms ; and Marius, frightened by the storm of opposition which 
his colleagues had raised, tried to trim his sails so as to steer 
between all parties. The inevitable result followed : a pitched 
battle took place in the Forum between the rural plebeians 
and the rabble ; Saturninus and Glaucia were both killed, 

. . and Marius was discredited with all parties. "Free- 

Appian, ^ 

Civil Wiu^s, dom, democracy, laws, reputation, official position, were 
no longer of any use to anybody, since the tribunes . . . 
committed such outrages and suffered such indignities." 

During the next ten years, all questions of internal politics 
were obscured by the persistent demand of the Italian allies 



MARIUS AND SULLA 363 

for Roman citizenship. The more liberal Romans had con- 
ceded for a generation that the demand was just; but the rab- 
ble and the Senate steadily opposed it. In 91 b.c. a new 3^3 -^^^^ 
champion of the allies arose in the city : Marcus Livius attempt to 
Drusus, a son of that Drusus who had brought about the the allies 
downfall of Gains Gracchus. Elected tribune in 91 b.c, (^^ ^■^•' 
he proposed a number of laws which should restore to the Senate 
power over the courts, which should better the condition of the 
common people, which should admit the allies to some share 
in the privileges of Roman citizenship. Though much that 
Drusus proposed was intended to benefit the Senate and the 
common j)eople, all classes rose in arms against the man who 
dared to suggest that they should share their privileges with 
the common herd of Italians. Again the dagger was appealed 
to, and Drusus fell, a victim to his desire to help the struggling 
allies. 

" Now when the Italians learned of the killing of Drusus, 

. ^ . they considered it no longer bearable that those 

. , . Appian, 

who were laboring for their political advancement should civil Wars, 

suffer such outrages ; and as they saw no other means of g„„^' ^'^^ 
acquiring citizenship, they decided to revolt from the Social war 
Romans altogether." Messengers passed from one Italian ^ 
city to another, till everything was ready ; then the revolt 
flamed out, and all eastern and southern Italy sprang to 
arms. For at least a year, the fortunes of war were decidedly 
favorable to the allies ; a rough organization was perfected ; a 
capital, called Italica, was established in the stronghold of Cor- 
flnium ; and altogether the chances for success seemed bright. 
Then the tables turned. After all, the military force of the 
allies was no match for the enormous resources of Rome, and 
slowly but surely the allies were defeated and their rising 
suppressed. Not, however, till their point had been car- 
ried: first, in 90 B.C., citizenship was granted to those allies 
who had remained faithful to Rome from the start ; then, in 



364 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



89 B.C., citizenship was bestowed upon those who were willing 
to lay down their arms within thirty days. After these con- 
cessions had been made, there was little use in continuing the 
fight ; and one by one the allies returned to their ancient 
allegiance, henceforth to be citizens of Eome with rights 
equal to those of all other Eomans. Notwithstanding the 
good results, the whole affair was full of sadness : what patriots 
like Gains Gracchus and Drusus had failed to bring about by 
peaceful means, had now been accomplished at the cost of 
blood and war. 

The Social war was over, but for Rome there was still no 
peace. In Asia Minor, a new and powerful enemy, Mithridates, 
378 B si ^^^S ^^ Pontus, had overriui the 
ning of civil dominions of Eome and her allies, 
^^^ and against him war must be de- ^ -> y^A^ 

clared at once. In this war, Sulla, one 
of the consuls for the year, was the 
natural commander; but Marius coveted 
the honor, and his partisans were deter- 
mined that he should have it. Therefore 
Sulpicius, one of the tribunes, carried a 
law through the Comitia Tributa Plebis 
transferring the command of the army 
from Sulla to Marius. Though the law 
was unconstitutional, Sulla wasted no 
time in trying to defeat it by civil means ; 
all men knew that the time for appeal 
to reason and precedent had long since 
passed in Eome. Breaking camp at 
Nola, Sulla marched with his army on 

Eome. Step by step he fought his way, and finally led his 
victorious troops into the very Forum at Eome ; then, by 
force of arms, he removed from the government all elements 
opposed to his rule, and set up new officers upon whose fidelity 




" Sulla." 
Vatican, Rome. 



MARIUS AND SULLA 365 

he could depend. Thus was genuine constitutional govern- 
ment destroyed in Eome : henceforth, the soldier and not the 
statesman was to be master of the city, Italy, and the empire. 

In 87 B.C. Sulla finally set sail for the east. It was high 
time. Since Rome had acquired the province of Asia in 
133 B.C., many changes had taken place in Asia Minor, 379. First 
and in the last fifteen or twenty years a new and ^^^^^07^04 
powerful enemy to the republic had arisen in the north- B.C.) 

eastern part of the peninsula. In 120 b.c. Mithridates YI., 
then a mere boy, succeeded to the throne of the kingdom of 
Pontus, on the shores of the Black Sea. This Mithridates 
was " a man most active in war ; preeminent in cour- Paterculus 
age, distinguished sometimes by success and always by "• ^^ 

spirit ; in council, a general ; in action, a soldier ; in hatred of 
the Romans, another Hannibal " ; he was not content to live 
out his life as a petty sovereign in an almost unknown land. 
By alliance, by intrigue, and by conquest he added to his 
dominions till they extended from the Crimea almost to the 
Bosporus. At first, he made war on Rome only by stealth,, by 
attacking her allies and harassing her governors wherever 
he could; finally he threw off the mask and invaded the 
province of Asia itself. Within a few months, he annihilated 
the Roman garrisons, and exterminated almost all the Italians 
in Asia Minor. In the end, even Greece and Macedonia were 
drawn into the revolt. 

For the moment, Mithridates was king over all Asia Minor ; 
and all Greece and Macedonia, even to the Adriatic Sea, owned 
him as overlord. In this critical moment (87 b.c), Sulla 
finally appeared on the scene. The revolt in Greece was 
slowly suppressed; Athens and Piraeus, which held out 
longest, were reduced and punished for their contumac}^ In 
84 B.C., after three years of fighting in Greece, Sulla crossed 
the Hellespont into Asia Minor, and before the end of the 
year Mithridates was forced to consent to the terms of peace 



366 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

which Sulla dictated. In brief, he was to retire into his 
ancient kingdom of Pontus, the province of Asia was to be 
reestablished, the Eoman allies were to be restored to their 
dominions, those who had deserted Rome were to be punished, 
those who had remained faithful were to receive their reward. 
Thus was the supremacy of Eome once again established in 
the east. 

During the absence of Sulla, indeed almost before he was out 
of sight of Italy, a military revolution had once more over- 

380. Marian turned the government. For weeks the campaign raged 

party m about the walls of Eome, till the populares, under the 

control of ' . . 

Rome leadership of Marius and a new partisan, Cinna, entered 

the city and turned the friends of Sulla out. Then the 
slaughter of the optimates began : in the Avork of revenge, 
Marius, now grown old, exhibited all the fury and blood- 
thirstiness of a madman; for days his political enemies were 
hunted out and murdered in cold blood; mercy or consider- 
ation there was none. 

In 86 B.C. Marius entered upon his seventh and last consul- 
ship, with Cinna as colleague ; but he lived only a few weeks 
to enjoy the carnival of blood which he had inaugurated. After 
Plutarch, seventeen days of power, he died," to the great joy and 
Marius content of Eome, which thereby was in great hopes to 

be delivered from the calamity of a cruel tyrant." Then for 
three years Cinna ruled the city alone, practically disregard- 
ing every provision of the republican constitution. The three 
years are characterized by inaction — it can scarcely be called 
peace ^ on the part of all factions. 

Sulla landed at Brundisium in 83 B.C., after finishing the 
Mithridatic war. At once he was joined by all the forces in 

381. The Italy hostile to Cinna, and that same summer a war began. 

return of -p^^. ^^^.^ years the fight went on ; day by day news of 

Sulla (83 

B.C.) battles, of pillage, and of murder reached Eome. Sulla 

was slowly drawing his net closer and closer about his enemies ; 



MARIUS AND SULLA 367 

one by one the armies of the opposition were put to rout, till, 
in a battle at the Colline gate, 'at the very entrance to the 
city, the last ray of hope for the populares was extinguished, 
and Sulla entered the city in triumph, amid the rejoicings of 
his partisans. 

iSTow began the proscriptions, the model for which Sulla found 
in the acts of Marius five years before. Lists were posted in 
the Forum containing the names of those regarded as enemies 
of the state. '' Not in Rome alone did these proscrip- piutarch, 
tions prevail ; but throughout all the cities of Italy, the "^"^^^ 

effusion of blood was such that neither sanctuary of the gods, 
nor hearth of hospitality, nor ancestral home, escaped.'^ 
Within three months, several thousands were given up to 
slaughter ; and often the only reason for the murder was the 
personal enmity or the envy which one of Sulla's followers 
bore against the victim. 

These cold-blooded murders, often of wholly innocent x^eople, 

are the blot which mark for all time the reputation of Sulla. 

He soon beg^an to show a better side of his character. In 

. . . . 382. The 

the ten years of social and civil war, the Roman constitu- Sulian con- 

tion had been strained beyond all hope of recovery ; com- stitution 

plete reconstruction was necessary. To accomplish this result, 

Sulla had himself elected perpetual dictator, with absolute and 

unlimited power over the entire Roman world. Armed with 

this authority, he set about recreating the Roman constitution. 

The basis of Sulla's reforms was the principle that all power 

should be vested, as of old, in the Senate. To fill up its ranks, 

which had been woefully depleted by wars and proscriptions, 

he added to the rolls the names of three hundred men of the 

equestrian order. Then, to keep it full, and to break the power 

of the censors over the senatorial lists, he decreed that in 

future all men who had once held the office of quaestor should 

ever after sit in the Senate by right of office, and no senator 

should in the future be deprived of his seat by vote of the 



368 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

censors. Next, he formally enacted what in former times had 
been the custom of the land — that no law should come before 
the assemblies before the Senate had acted upon it and con- 
sented to its passage. 

Having thus increased the power of the Senate, he next 
attacked the authority of the tribunes, the source of most of 
the disturbances of the last fifty years. Henceforth, no tribune 
should have the right to convene the people for the purpose of 
discussing laws. Furthermore, to lessen the importance of the 
office, he decreed that in future no man who had once been 
tribune should ever after be eligible to any curule office, that 
is, to the office of dictator, consul, praetor, censor, or curule 
gedile. 

To prevent the gathering of excessive power in a few hands, 
he next curtailed the functions of the consuls and the praetors 
by enacting that neither should in future exercise the functions 
of their office beyond the confine's of Italy, or busy themselves 
with anything but the administration of civil affairs. In the 
provinces, proconsuls and propraetors, who exercised both mili- 
tary and civil power, were to administer affairs. 

Finally, he completely reorganized the judicial system by 
depriving the equites of the power which Gains Gracchus had 
conferred upon them, and bestowing it again upon the members 
of the Senate. 

To the honor of Sulla be it said, when he had completed 

his work, he abdicated the office of dictator and retired to 

383 E d ^^^^ country estate, where (if we may trust his biog- 

of Sulla's raphers) he lived for the few remaining months of his 

life like any other noble citizen of Kome. 

Sulla's life and works deserve more discussion than can 
here be given. He was born of an obscure aristocratic family, 
and rose but slowly in his profession as a soldier. In war, he 
was a mixture of the lion and the fox ; in peace, he lived the 
life of a cynic and a libertine. In war, he ended his career 



MARIUS AND SULLA 



369 



at the highest pinnacle of military fame; in peace, he accom- 
plished, at the end of his days, a really herculean task. Had 
the Senate been worthy of his trust, it might have dated a new 
lease of power from the days of his reforms. Compared with 
Marius, he was a far greater man : for ]nuch of the fame of 



■^^ilT 



IS. — ^ /C 







A Roman Country Estate, or Villa. (Restoration.) 

Marius w^as due to fortunate chance, and in politics he was cer- 
tainly incompetent ; Sulla, on the other hand, won his title to 
military glory by skillfully planned and hard-fought battles, 
and in civil affairs, though his ideals may not have been high, 
he had, nevertheless, a clear idea of the necessities of the 
Eoman state. 



In the half century after the days of the Gracchi, the 
Roman republic proceeded far on the road to dissolution. 
The incompetence of the nobility was proved by the 334 ^^^_ 
maladministration in Kumidia. Nearly twenty years mary 

wTre wasted in settling accounts wdth a petty African 
chief simply because the majority of the nobles were so cor- 
rupt that no man was strong enough to resist the bribes 
which Jugurtha poured into Rome. After the end of the 
Jugurthan war came the w^ar with the Cimbri and Teutones, 
in which Marius won undying fame. 

Within the city, the great source of contention was the 



3'70 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

question of granting the franchise to the Italian allies. In 
that contention, lives were sacrificed in civil brawls, and 
struggles in the Forum were frequent, till, in the end, the 
allies took up arms and won by war what the law had refused 
to give them. 

In 87 B.C. the first Mithridatic war broke out. Incident to 
the beginning of the long Asiatic campaigns came the first civil 
. war, in which Marius and Sulla fought to see which of the 
two should command in the east; Sulla won, and in three 
years (87-84 b.c.) reduced the power of Mithridates to his 
original dominions. While Sulla was away, the Marian party 
once more raised its head, and by war succeeded in forcibly 
overturning the government. In 83 e.g. Sulla returned from 
the east, and again civil war devastated Italy ; once more the 
optimates succeeded to power, and then Sulla confirmed the 
power which his sword had won for his party by a series of 
constitutional reforms which he instituted while he held the 
office of perpetual dictator. 

In the whole period, the most significant fact is this : 
Eoman citizens had come to regard the field of battle, and not 
the Forum, as the place where they should settle their constitu- 
tional differences. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) Was it constitutional to reelect Marius to the consulship in 

topics ^Yie manner described ? To what was such procedure bound to lead ? 

(2) What powers did Marius, Glaucia, and Saturninus exercise 
^ as consul, praetor, and tribune respectively ? (3) Why were the 

rabble and the Senate opposed to granting the privileges of citizen- 
ship to the Italians ? (4) What preparation had the Romans for 
such a law as that proposed and carried by Sulpicius ? (5) What 
was the real force back of Marius and Sulla while each was in 
control of the city ? (6) With what event of more modern 
times in France would you compare the proscriptions of Marius 
and Sulla ? (7) Toward what was the election of Sulla to per- 
petual dictatorship a step ? (8) AVhat were the powers and duties 
of censors, quaestors, tribunes, consuls, praetors, proconsuls, and 



MARIUS AND SULLA 



371 



propraetors before the reforms of Sulla? (9) What is a curule 
office ? (10) Why had Gracchus given the equites the judicial 
powers of the Senate ? Did it accomplish what it was intended 
to ? Was Sulla justified in undoing the act of Gracchus ? 

(11) The privileges of Roman citizenship. (12) Sallust's char- Search 
acterization of Jugurtha. (13) Adventures of Marius. (14) Char- 
acter of Sulla. (15) Complaints of the Italians. (16) Sulla's 
reforms. 



topics 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 162, 216, 217, 225, 331. Geography 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xxxv.-xliv. ; Shuckburgh, Modern 

History of Borne, chs. xxxvi.-xl. ; Mommsen, History of Borne. ^^*^°^^*^68 

bk. iv. chs. iv.-ix. ; Ihne, History of Borne, bk. vii. chs. vii-xxii. ; 

Beesly, The Gracchi, Marius, and Sulla, chs. iv.-xv. ; Allcroft, 

TJie 3Ialdng of the Monarchy, ch. i. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman 

History, bk. iv. chs. i.-iii. ; Taylor, Constitutional and Political 

History of Borne, chs. x. xi. ; Fowler, City- State, ch. ix. ; Duruy, 

History of Borne (II. III.), chs. xxxix.-xlvii. ; F. F. Abbott, 

Boman Political Institutions, ch. vi. 

Plutarch, Lives, Sulla, Marius, Lucullus, Pompey, Crassus; Ap- Sources 

plan, Civil Wars, bk. i. chs. 4-12, — Foreign Wars, bk. iv. ch. 13, 

bk. viii. pt. ii., bk. x. § 4, bk. xii. chs. 1-10 ; Livy, Epitome, bks. 

Ixii.-xc. ; Florus, bk. iii. chs. xvi.-xxi. ; Velleius Paterculus, bk. ii. 

chs. xi.-xxviii. ; Sallust, Jugurthine War ; Diodorus, fragments of 

bks. xxxvi. xxxvii. „, ^ ^. 

Illustrative 
A. J. Church, Tv:o Thousand Years Ago. work 



CHAPTER XXX. 

POMPEY AND C^SAR : THE PASSING OF THE REPUBLIC 

(79-56 B.C.) 

Sulla was scarcely laid in his grave when the interminable 

fight between the optimates and populares was renewed. In 

385 War *^^® y^^^' ^^ Sulla's death, the consul Lepidus, a magis- 

with Ser- trate of Sulla's creation, deserted his own party and 

Spain (79- assumed the leadership of the populares. With a hastily 

72 B.C.) gathered army, he marched on Rome ; but before long he 

was completely defeated and forced to fly to Sardinia, where 

he died. 

Lepidus bequeathed the few followers who still stood by 
him to Quintus Sertorius, who was at the moment maintain- 
ing a vigorous war against the optimates in Spain. Sertorius, 
according to all accounts, was a man far above most of his 
contemporaries in chivalry, in love of liberty, in military 
skill, and in ability as an organizer. In the days when Sulla 
was destroying his political enemies, Sertorius had escaped to 
Spain, and there, by his uniformly just treatment of the na- 
tives, had drawn about him a considerable army. From 79 to 
72 B.C., with the aid of his native allies and the remnants of 
the Marian party which gathered about him, he maintained a 
most unequal struggle against the forces of the republic. 

After two years of unsuccessful Avar, in 77 b.c. the Senate 
appointed to take the field in Spain Gnaeus Pompeius, or 
Pompey, a young and vigorous commander, who had already 
won laurels in the civil wars and a triumph for a war in 
Africa. Still, Sertorius maintained the unequal fight for four 
years longer. When arms and men were wanting, cunning 

372 



POMPEY AND C^.SAR 



373 



and strategy supplied their place, and, with all his ability, 
Pompey could do nothing against such an enemy. But good 

fortune attended him now 

as in most later crises of 
his life ; Sertorius was 
killed by one of his own 
followers, and the rebellion 
soon succumbed. 

Pompey and his legions 
landed in Italy in 71 b.c. 
Flushed with the vie- gge.Gladia- 
tories which they had torial war 
won in Spain, they ^ 
were just in time to add to 
the glory of their com- 
mander by aiding in the 
extermination of the last 
remnants of a slave insur- 
rection which had been 
terrorizing Italy for two 
years. In 73 b.c. some fifty or a hundred slaves escaped 
from a gladiatorial school in Capua, where men were trained 
for combats in the arena, and under the leadership of a Thra- 
cian named Spartacus, made their way to the mountain fast- 
nesses of Vesuvius. A host of runaway slaves and discontented 
freedmen soon gathered about them, and what at first seemed 
to the Romans but an insignificant affair soon became a seri- 
ous menace to the safety of the republic. Army after army 
was defeated, and the Roman state was at its wits' end, 
till disunion and discontent divided the ranks of the insur- 
gents. 

In 71 B.C. Marcus Licinius Crassus, a knight who had 
won fame and fortune in the civil wars, finally succeeded in 
entrapping the slaves in Bruttium ; and after a desperate 




"Pompey. " 
Palazzo Spada, Rome. 



WOLF. ANC. HIST. 



•23 



374 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

struggle, the army of Spartacus was totally defeated. Then 
followed a ruthless man hunt: the remnants of the slave 
army, caught between the legions of Crassus and Pompey, 
were slaughtered one by one, and before the legionaries relin- 
quished the chase, six thousand crucified slaves lined the 
Appian Way from Eome to Capua. 

Pompey and Crassus now entered Rome expecting honors 

and offices as their reward, but the Senate refused to act 

387 Con- because it was frighteued by the growing power of 

sulship of the two leaders. Thereupon, both men, who had never 

Crassus been very closely attached to the optimates, unhesi- 

(70 B.C.) tatingly threw in their fortunes with the populares ; 

and as a result, the two were elected consuls for the year 

70 B.C., with the understanding that they should influence 

legislation in favor of their associates. In a single year, 

nearly all the reforms of Sulla were abolished: the tribunes 

were restored to their old powers ; the law courts were again 

opened to the knights; the censorship was restored; and 

other laws were enacted which again established the rule of 

the populares. Thus in less than ten years the whole fabric 

which Sulla had built went to pieces, simply because the opti- 

mates did not know how to profit by the advantages which they 

had gained. 

The coalition between Pompey and Crassus fell apart with 

the restoration of the democracy. Pompey desired supreme 

388. War power, but did not dare to take it, and for three years 

with the j-^g retired from politics. In 67 B.C. affairs in the east, 

pirates ^ 

(67 B.C.) which had long been in confusion, became so serious that 

extraordinary measures were necessary. From the beginning, 

the republic had never provided an adequate naval force to 

police the seas, and in consequence piracy and freebooting 

Appian, became the habitual occupation of thousands of men, from 

mthridatic g • j^ ^Q g .-^^ a rjy^ carried off the wealthier citizens 

Wars, XIV. c j j 

92 to their havens of refuge and held them for ransom. 



POMPEY AND C^SAR 375 

They scorned the name of robbers, and called their tak- 
ings the prizes of war. . . . They likened themselves to kings, 
rulers, and great armies. . . . They built ships and made all 
kinds of arms. . . . They had castles and towers and desert 
islands and retreats everywhere." In short, they felt that 
they had attained to the dignity of an organized state, since 
they had fortified centers in Cilicia and Crete. 

Rome had made one or two sporadic efforts to suppress these 
pirate communities, but down to 67 b.c. no results had been 
attained. In that year a law was passed conferring upon 
Pompey, for three years, supreme command over the entire 
Mediterranean and all the coasts for fifty miles inland, with 
unlimited power to raise armies and fleets, to appoint lieuten- 
ants, and to govern as he pleased. 

Though the law was a military necessity, it rang the death 
knell of the republic; for by it Pompey was made military 
dictator of the Roman world. From this time on, the regular 
'magistrates became puppets in the hands of the commanders 
in the field, who set them up and deposed them as they pleased. 

Pompey at once set to work. " At the end of the win- Cicero, For 
ter," says Cicero, " he had made his preparations ; with ^^'.^ Maml- 
the coming of spring, he set out ; and by the middle of xii. 

the summer, he had terminated this most important war." In 
less than three months, Cilicia, Crete, and the other pirate 
strongholds were in Pompey's hands, thirteen hundred vessels 
were captured, the coasts and islands were freed from the dan- 
ger of annual raids, and ships could once more go and come in 
complete safety. 

After this short campaign, Pompey rested in Cilicia. North 
of him, in the provinces of Asia and Bithynia and in the de- 
pendent kingdoms, war with Mithridates was again on 389. War 

foot. For several years, the war had been in the hands of .^^\^ ^i??' 
•^ ' ridates(66- 

Lucullus, a man of exceptional military ability ; but by his 63 B.C.) 
unfortunate temperament and by the extreme severity of his 



376 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 




Coin of Mithridates. 



dealings with soldiers and civilians, he neutralized nearly every 
victory which he won. When Pompey came into that part of 
the workl, the power of Mithridates, and his ally, the king 

of Armenia, was still un- 
broken ; and every one 
was clamoring for a change 
in the command. 

What more natural, 
under the circumstances, 
than that Pompey should 
be appointed to succeed Lucullus ? Assuming control in 
66 B.C., in one campaign Pompey utterly routed Mithridates, 
drove him north into Crimea, and subjugated Tigranes, king 
of Armenia. For another two or three years, Mithridates con- 
tinued to plot and intrigue against Eome ; but in the end 
discontent and rebellion accomplished his ruin. He was 
hounded from place to place by his son, Pharnaces, and 
finally took poison and died, with none about him to do him' 
honor. Thus perished the man who for thirty years had been 
the gravest menace to Koman dominion in the east. 

Meanwhile, Pompey was carrying on a war in Syria, where 
rebellions and civil dissensions had left to the descendants of 

oA/^ n Antiochus the Great nothing but the semblance of their 

390. Con- ^ 

quest of power. Pompey made short work of the wrangling fac- 
^"^ tions which had made the land their prey ; from Phoenicia 

on the north to Judea on the south, the land was conquered 
and annexed to Eome. Then Pompey turned his attention 
to the north once more. Marching into Pontus, he made a 
settlement with Pharnaces and his other enemies, by which 
Rome became undisputed mistress throughout the region. 

Thus in less than three years Pompey destroyed the pirates, 
defeated Mithridates, and conquered Syria. In that time he 
added to the empire more territory than any Roman had ever 
conquered before : Cilicia in the south, a large part of Pontus 



POMPEY AND CiESAR 377 

in the north, and Syria were now directly under Roman 
rule. 

While Pompey was fighting in the east, the government at 
home had fallen nominally to the optimates ; but all power had 
long since passed from their hands. All that was left to 391. Con- 
them was the petty pickings which a province here and p^^^^^^ °^ 
there offered to the rapacity of the decadent nobles. So B.C.) 

weak was the government that it approached the verge of ruin 
from a band of conspirators who plotted to overturn the state 
and make themselves rulers of the city. The leader of this 
movement was Lucius Sergius Catiline, " a man of noble Sallust 

birth and of eminent mental and personal attainments, Catiline, v. 
but of a vicious and depraved disposition, whose delight from 
his youth had been in civil commotions, in bloodshed, robbery, 
and sedition." 

When news of the proposed revolution was brought to the 
ears of the nobles, they were in a panic. Fortunately for the 

republic, there arose at this 
moment a man capable of cop- 
ing with the danger. This man, 
Marcus Tullius Cicero, was a 
native of Arpinum, a Latin 
town which fifty years before 
had given Marius to Rome. 
Coming to Rome as a young 
man, Cicero had gradually 
worked his way to the top, till 
in 63 B.C. he had reached the 
consulship. Thenceforward, for 

twenty years, he was one of 
Cicero. ,, , • , n 

the most prominent figures m 
Capitoliue Museum, Rome. _^ ... .,. 

Roman politics. " Since," Boissier, 

says a modern writer, " in existing^ parties he did not find Cicero and 

^ his Friends, 

any which exactly corresponded to his convictions, and p. 46 




378 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

which altogether suited his disposition, he had no other 
recourse than to form one for himself. . . . He sought to 
create a new party composed of the moderate men of all 
parties, of which he was to be the head." He failed in a well- 
thought plan, because the republic was so near its end that 
men lighting for its preservation were foredoomed to failure. 
The whole life of Cicero was devoted to a losing cause, and 
therefore his influence on politics was always less than was due 
to his high character and sterling worth. 

Of the conspiracy of Catiline, little need be said : through 
the vigilance and vigor of Cicero it was disarmed ; Catiline 
was forced to flee from the city, his companions in crime were 
apprehended and put to death, and a few weeks later he and 
his armed forces were met and defeated in the north. Catiline 
was killed in battle, his army was dispersed, and thus the con- 
spiracy died almost as soon as it was born. 

In 61 B.C. Pompey finally landed in Italy. For two years 

he had been lingering in the east, anxious for still higher 

392. Forma- ^^oi^ors, but too timid to return to Eome and take them. 

tion of first His landing was the signal for great uneasiness on the 
triumvi- 
rate (60 Pf^i"^' of ^11 factions: the aristocrats hated him; the demo- 

^•^•-) crats feared him ; and the knights, who had no interest 

in politics save the opportunity that the state afforded them for 
making money, distrusted this man who might cut off all their 
opportunities ; only his veterans were ready to support him 
with their swords. 

Pompey speedily entered the city and laid before the citi- 
zens his demands : he wished to be consul for the next year 5 
he expected the confirmation of his acts in the east which as 
yet had no constitutional sanction; he wanted homesteads for 
his veterans. Against all these demands, the Senate stood firm ; 
and since the nobles refused to give him what he wanted, he 
turned, as he had done ten years before, to the popular party, 
and the result was the formation of the first triumvirate. 




379 



380 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

The leader of the day in the popular party was one of the 
greatest men of all time, Gains Julius Caesar. His character 
and career will be revealed as we proceed ; already he showed 
an astuteness and a political shrewdness far beyond the 
gifts of an ordinary politician. Caesar drew Crassus into the 
combination as a man who had immense influence among 
the knights, and entered into a compact with Pompey 
whereby the three men should become absolute masters of the 
state. 

Each triumvir was to benefit from the coalition in propor- 
tion to his contributions to the alliance. For the military 
support which his veterans could give, Pompey was to have 
his acts in the east confirmed and was to have lands appro- 
priated for the use of his veterans. Por his wealth and influ- 
ence with the knights, Crassus was to have all the opportunities 
which the triumvirate could furnish for augmenting his fortune. 
For his influence with the masses, Csesar was to be elected 
consul for the year 59 b.c, with the promise of several prov- 
inces as proconsul in the following year. 

Each part of the bargain was systematically carried out : 
offices and favors were distributed absolutely at the will of the 
triumvirs ; the Senate and the magistrates were disregarded ; 
the whole Roman world was, for the moment, at the mercy of 
the three men. 

After his year as consul, Caesar proceeded, in 58 b.c, to 
his new provinces of Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul, and Gallia 
393. Con- Narbonensis or Narbonese Gaul. That very year wit- 
quest of nessed a tumultuous movement of the central European 
Gaul (58- ^ 

52 B.C.) tribes, which like the invasion of the Cimbri and Teuto- 

nes threatened to overwhelm the transalpine provinces. Caesar 
was ready to meet it ; in one summer, he checked the migra- 
tion of the Helvetians who were pouring into the Roman 
dominions from their homes among the Alps; and then utterly 
routed the Suevi, a German tribe who lived still farther to the 



POMPEY AND C^SAR 381 

north. The next two years Caesar devoted to the conquest 
of the Nervii and the Veneti, tribes living in northern and 
Avestern Gaul ; and in the following years he even found time 
to cross the channel into Britain and to penetrate beyond the 
Rhine into Germany. In 55 b.c. his command was renewed 
for five years, with a result which will appear later. In the 
end, most of the land now known as France submitted com- 
pletely to Roman control. Only once was there a serious 
attempt to revolt ; that attempt Caesar put down, and there- 
after the land practically never gave the Romans any trouble. 

We shall not deal here with the military operations of 
Caesar in Gaul during those eight years ; though they are 
among the most brilliant in the world's history, they „q. .p 
differ but little from those of any other great commander, suits of the 
The results, however, were so momentous both for the conques 
ancient and for the modern world that they must be briefly 
set forth. 

Looking at it from the Roman standpoint, Caesar had carried 
the boundaries of the empire to the western ocean and the 
North Sea ; he had annexed to the empire a new land as fertile 
as any which Rome had hitherto possessed — a land from which 
wealth was to be drawn for many generations to come. From 
the modern standpoint, a much more important result was that 
the conquest, for the first time, gave an opportunity to Romano- 
Greek culture to spread into the lands of central Europe. 
Down to Caesar's time, the world's civilization had been con- 
fined to the Mediterranean basin and the lands of the east; 
by his campaigns, central Europe was opened to the ancient 
world, and the culture of centuries was introduced for the 
first time into the western lands beyond the borders of the 
Mediterranean Sea. It is not a stretch of the truth, therefore, 
to say that the conquests of Caesar are the first link in the 
chain which binds the ancient to the modern world. 



382 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

In the year of Sulla's death (79 b.c.) the Hydra of revolu- 
tion appeared once more. In Italy, the attempt to overthrow 
395. Sum- ^^^ optimates failed ; in Spain, nnder Sertorius, the 
"^^^y attempt came much nearer to being successful. Not till 

Sertorius was murdered did the danger pass. Even then the 
rule of the optimates lasted only ten years ; in 70 b.c, by 
combining with the populares, Pompey and Crassus completely 
restored the democracy ; but by this time the nominal democ- 
racy was hardly more than a tool in the hands of military 
leaders. 

In 67 B.C. Pompey once more assumed command of an 
army. In three years he subdued the pirates, conquered 
Mithridates, overran Syria, and reasserted Eome's dominion 
over the east. On his return to Rome, he threw in his for- 
tunes with Crassus and Caesar, and the coalition known as the 
first triumvirate was established. By the terms of the agree- 
ment, Caesar was sent into Gaul in 58 b.c, and in the eight 
years which he spent in the province he completely conquered 
the land, and added to the Roman dominion what, from a 
modern point of view, are the most important provinces in 
the entire Roman world. 

The thing wdiich stands out most prominently in the whole 
period is that nothing but the shell of the old republic re- 
mained ; in reality, all power had passed into the hands of one 
or two preeminent military leaders. In the next chapter, we 
shall see how the struggle for supremacy narrowed down, till 
one man, and one man only, wielded the entire power of the 
mighty Roman world. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) Wliat does the rebellion of Sertorius show about the condition 

°^^^^ of parties in the republic ? (2) What does the defection of Pompey 

from the optimates to the populares show about the motives of the 
Roman leaders at this time ? (3) What were the principles of the 
optimates and populares, and which social classes belonged to each ? 
(4) Was the enormous power of Pompey a novelty or a natural 



POMPEY AND C^SAR 



383 



development ? (5) What is the difference between a consul and a 
proconsul ? (6) Was the triumvirate contrary to the principles of 
the Roman republic ? (7) Was the renewal of Caesar's command 
for five years legal ? (8) Can you think of any other results of 
Caesar's conquest of Gaul besides those given in the book ? 

(9) A sea fight. (10) Gladiatorial shows. (11) Ancient pirates. 
(12) Cicero's invectives against Catiline. (13) Caesar's youth. 
(14) Caesar's account of the Gauls. (15) Caesar's expeditions to 
Britain. 

REFERENCES 



Search 
topics 



Geography 



Modern 
authorities 



See maps, pp. 216, 217, 331, 396, 397. 

How and Leigh, History of Borne, chs. xlv.-xlix. ; Shuckburgh, 
History of Borne, chs. xli.-xliv. ; Mommsen, History of Borne, 
bk. V. chs. i.-vii. ; Merivale, History of the Bomans nuder the 
Empire (I. II.) chs. i.-xii., — Boman Triumvirates, chs. i.-v. ; 
Allcroft, The Making of the Monarchy, chs. ii.-ix. ; E. S. Beesly, 
Catiline, Clodius, and Tiberius ; Dodge, Ccesar, chs. i.-xxv. ; 
Froude, Cwsar, chs. i.-xix. ; Fowler, Julius Ccesar, chs. i.-ix. ; 
Strachan-Davidson, Cicero, chs. i.-vi. ; Forsyth, Cicero, chs. i.-xvii.; 
Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. iv. chs. ii. iii. ; Taylor, 
Constitutional and Political History of Borne, chs. xii. xiii. ; 
Duruy, History of Borne, III. chs. xlviii.-liv. ; Mackail, Latin 
Literature, bk. i. ch. vi. ; Simcox, Latin Literature, I. pt. ii. ch. ii. ; 
F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Institutions, ch. vi. 

Appian, Civil Wars, bk. i. chs. xiii. xiv., bk. ii. chs. i.-iii., — For- Sources 
eign Wars, bk. iv. chs. xv.-xxi., bk. vi. ch. xvi., bk. xi. §§ 49-51, 
70, bk. xii. chs. xi.-xvii. ; Livy, Epitome, bks. xci.-cviii. ; Plutarch, 
Lives, Pompey, Sertorius, Crassus, Cato the Younger, Caesar, Cicero, 
Lucullus ; Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War ; Cicero, Ora- 
tions (years 66-62 b.c), — Letters; Sallust, Catiline, — History, 
fragment of bk. iii. ; Suetonius, lAves of the Ccesars, Julius Caesar ; 
Floras, bk. iii. chs. xxii. xxiii., bk. iv. ch. i. ; Velleius Paterculus, 
bk. ii. chs. xxix.-xlvii. 

A. J. Church, Boman Life in the Days of Cicero ; W. S. Davis, 
x\ Friend of Ccesar ; E. Eckstein, Prusias ; H. W. Herbert, The 
Boman Traitor ; R. Landor, The Fawn of Sertorius. 



Illustrative 
works 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



C^SAR AND POMPEY: THE FIGHT FOR SOLE DOMINION 
(56-44 B.C.) 

PoMPEY, according to the terms of the agreement entered 

into when the lirst triumvirate was formed, was supposed to 

396. Confer- be in control of affairs in Rome. Whatever may be said 

Lu^ca (56 ^^ ^^^^ ability as a general, even his most ardent admirers 

B.C.) can scarcely claim for him any skill as a politician; 

he was as inexpert in civil affairs as Marius, though a much 

more cultured man. The followers of the coalition fell away, 

day by day, till in 56 b.c. it seemed as though the optimates 

. "^.TT^., w^ould regain control of the city. 

V At this juncture, Cccsar, the most con- 

•^ ' ^ummate politician of his time, acting from 

JUS province of Cisalpine Gaul, called his 
colleagues to a meeting in the town of 
Lucca. By this time most men in Rome 
already recognized in Csesar the coming 
master, and many nobles and knights 
flocked to take part in the conference. 
The triumvirs met and again apportioned 
the empire. Csesar was to continne in 
command in Gaul for five years, and then 
was to be elected consul ; Pompey and 
Crassus were to be consuls for the year 
55 B.C., and then, as proconsuls, the former 
was to hold the two provinces of Spain, 
while the latter was to govern Syria, where 
opportunities for wealth and military glory seemed to be great. 

384 




C^SAR. 

British Museum. 



C^SAR AND POMPEY 885 

Every step in the programme was again carried out. The year 
55 B.C. passed, and the triumvirs were again in complete con- 
trol ; the storm of opposition which threatened to wreck the 
coalition in 56 b.c. had ceased for the time. Csesar returned 
to Gaul, and Crassus, at the end of his consulship, hurried out 
to Syria, filled with hopes of glory and plunder to be won in 
fighting the Parthians in the far east. Pompey alone modi- 
fied his plans : instead of going to his Spanish provinces, he 
sent out lieutenants called legates to govern for him, while 
he remained in Italy to Avatch events in Rome which were now 
rapidly approaching a crisis. 

Notwithstanding the apparent tranquillity which marked the 
years just after the conference at Lucca, the bonds which held 
the triumvirs together were easily sundered. First, 397. Breach 
Crassus, who had gone to Syria with such high hopes, caesaTand 
failed miserably in his campaign ; abandoning all pru- Pompey 
dence, he allowed himself to be enticed far into the wild 
lands of the upper Euphrates valley, where his army was 
defeated near the town of Carrhse, and where he himself met 
his death. Next, Julia, the sister of Caesar and the wife of 
Pompey, died, and with her perished one of the securest 
bonds between the two remaining triumvirs. The coalition 
was fast approaching its end; both men still formally 
acknowledged their obligations to each other, but both were 
anxious to find some excuse for a rupture. Pompey, espe- 
cially, was jealous of the renown which his colleague had 
gained in Gaul, and was afraid that when Caesar returned to 
Italy, the city would flock to his standard and forget com- 
pletely the hero of a hundred battles in the east. . 

Pompey 's first opportunity to show his hostility to Caesar _ 
came in 52 b.c. In those days political clubs, whose chief 
object was to influence legislation and elections by violence, 
habitually paraded the streets of Rome, armed from head to 
foot, fighting with each other, and often . attacking unarmed 



386 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

citizens who had incurred their wrath. The most famous of 
these bands, those of Clodius and Milo, one day met on the 
Appian Way. As usual, a fight ensued ; Clodius was killed, 
and the matter at once assumed a serious aspect. For the 
moment, anarchy ruled the city ; no magistrates could be 
elected, and the mobs ranged the streets at will. Had Pom- 
pey's mind been clear as to the exact course which he proposed 
to pursue, this would have been the time to /assume the dicta- 
torship ; instead, he hesitated, as he had always done in a politi- 
cal crisis, and thus gave the optimates the chance to take the 
decisive step. 

The oligarchs at last realized that their power was forever 

gone unless they allied themselves with one or the other of the 

398. AUi- two leaders. Marcus Porcius Cato had for several years 

ance of been the leader of that party. He was the i^reat-srrand- 

Pompey . . . . 

and opti- son of the Cato who lived in the time of the destruction 

mates ^f Carthage, and had been laboring to restore his party 

to the position which it had enjoyed immediately after the 

reforms of Sulla. Even he had come to realize that the party 

must make an ally of either Caesar or Pompey. With the 

former, no alliance was possible ; consequently, Cato turned 

to the latter, and Pompey was ready to accept. 

After two or three months of anarchy, Cato and Pompey 
came to an agreement ; the Senate elected Pompey sole consul, 
and he accepted the leadership of the oligarchical party and 
abandoned his former ally and friend. Henceforth, it must 
be war between the two : on the one side stood Caesar, sup- 
ported by the populares, who made but little pretense of pre- 
serving the ancient republican forms of government; on the 
other, Pompey and the optimates, striving to save the form of 
the commonwealth, though they realized that the soul was long 
since dead. 

Endless negotiations, demands and counter demands on both 
sides, occupied the next two and a half years. Caesar certainly 



CJESAR AND POMFEY 



387 



showed the greater moderation throughout the period; even 
so good a republican as Cicero is forced to admit that ^. 

" our party was eager for war ; Caesar, on the con- Letters, 

trary, appeared less inclined than afraid to have recourse ^*"' ^^ 

to arms." 

The violent action of the Senate, which attempted to deprive 
Csesar of his provinces, brought on the crisis in 49 b.c. Con- 
trary to the law which forbade a proconsul to enter Italy 399. Begin- 
with his army, Caesar crossed the river Rubicon, and ^i°& o^ <^i"^il 
thus announced to the world that another civil war was B.C.) 

about to begin. Confident in the strength of his comparatively 
few legions which had been hardened by ten or twelve years 




Roman Soldiers on the March. 

of active service in Gaul, he threw down the gauntlet to Pom- 
pey and the senatorial party, though they were supported by 
the power of the rest of the Roman world. 

Immediately after crossing the Rubicon, Csesar invested the 
town of Ariminum in Umbria. "As soon as Ariminum was 
taken," says Plutarch, " the gates were thrown wide Phuarch, 
open, so to speak, to let in war on land and sea. . . . Csesar 

The city of Rome was overrun, as it were, by a deluge, by the 



388 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

conflux of people flying from all the neighborhood. Magis- 
trates could no longer govern it, nor the eloquence of orators 
quiet it ; it was all but suffering shipwreck by the violence of 
its own tempestuous agitation." Caesar marched rapidly south 
from Ariminum, and defeated such forces as the opposition 
could send against him. Pompey, who had boasted a few 
Plutarch, months before, " Whenever I stamp my foot in any part 
Pompey ^f Italy, there will rise up forces enough in an instant, 
both of horse and foot," was forced to flee before his advancing 
enemy. Caesar pursued to the seaport of Brundisium ; but since 
he had no ships to cut off the retreat, Pompey escaped to 
Greece. 

Caesar now returned to Eome. On the news of his coming, 
says Lucan : — 

Lucan, " The city with confusion wild was fraught, 

Pharsalia, And laboring, shook with every dreadful thought. 

*"■ •^' They think he comes to ravage, sack, and burn ; 

Religion, gods, and temples to o'erturn." 

The terror of the people was speedily relieved, however, for 

Csesar was of a different type from Marius and Sulla. His 

400. Csesar political enemies were forgiven ; the city was set in 

secures order ; all violence and sedition were suppressed. In- 

himselfm ' , ^^ 

the west stead of bringing confusion into Italy and Rome, as his 

^ "^'^ enemies had predicted, he brought order and quiet. This 

was the gift of Caesar wherever he went ; though he came with 

the sword, he always left the land better off for his coming. 

Two courses now lay open to Caesar : either he could follow 

Pompey at once, or he could first attack the republican leaders 

in the west. He adopted the latter course by sending one of 

his lieutenants. Curio, into Sicily and Africa, while he himself 

proceeded against the city of Massilia in southern Gaul, which 

adhered to his opponents, and against the rival legions in Spain. 

In his own campaign, Caesar was completely successful ; before 

the year was over, he was master of all Europe west of the 



C^SAR AND POMFEY 389 

Adriatic. Sicily also surrendered without a blow ; but in 

Africa, Juba, king of Numidia, supported the republican 

cause, and by skillful maneuvering succeeded in defeating 

Curio, who died by his own hand upon the battlefield. 

Caesar returned from Spain, but spent only a few days in 

the capital; before the winter was more than half over, he 

started for Greece. Crossing the Adriatic in the face 401. The 

of great dangers, he landed in Illyricum, where, near the ^ndof Pom- 

° ° / J 7 J peys hopes 

town of Dyrrhachium, lay the army of Pompey. Caesar (48-47 B.C.) 

accepted battle and was badly beaten. " After the battle ^. :^^^^^«'*' 
it is reported that Caesar said, ' The war would have a. ix. g2 
ended this day in the enemy's favor, had they had a com- 
mander who knew how to make use of a victory ! ' " 

As it was, the lost opportunity of Pompey was Caesar'^ for- 
tune. Undaunted by defeat, he retired into Thessaly to rest 
and recuperate. Pompey followed, and again the two armies 
faced each other. The forces of the republican party were 
eager for battle, though their partisan Cicero says of them, 
" There was nothing good about them but their cause." ^,. 

^ ^ Cicero, 

Caesar's legions quietly but calmly waited the issue. The Letters, 

next day, the battle was joined on the plains of Pharsa- 
lus ; though Caesar was far outnumbered, his legions were com- 
pletely successful ; and this time there was a commander who 
knew how to make use of a victory. The republican armies 
were completely annihilated ; those who were not killed were 
incorporated into the legions of Caesar; the lieutenants of 
Pompey were scattered to the four corners of the world ; and 
Pompey himself fled to Egypt, where he was treacherously 
murdered by the orders of the boy king Ptolemy. 

" Such was the end of a most honorable and upright paterculus 

man ; " says a Koman writer, " such a revolution had ^'^- ^^ 

. . 402. An 

fortune made in his condition, that he who lately had estimate of 

wanted the whole earth to conquer, could now scarcely Pompey 

find sufficient for a grave." Of Pompey and his career, we 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 24 



390 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

may say a few words more. In the language of Mommsen: 
Mommsen, " He was neither a bad nor an incapable man, but a man 
hk. V. ch. 1 thoroughly ordinary ; created by nature to be a good 
sergeant, called by circumstances to be a general and a states- 
man. An intelligent, brave, experienced, and thoroughly 
excellent soldier, he was still, even in his military capacity, 
without trace of any higher gifts. ... In the tumult of 
battle he faced the enemy fearlessly ; in civil life he was a 
shy man, whose cheek flushed on the slightest occasion. . . . 
For nothing was he less qualified than for a statesman." 

Hastening after Pompey, Caesar arrived in Egypt too late 
to meet his old associate and recent enemy in the flesh ; what 

403 Caesar ^^^ attitude toward Pompey would have been, had Pom- 
pacifies the pey been alive, we can only conjecture. Unless all 

signs fail, however, he would not have indulged in vin- 
dictiveness such as marred the careers of Marius and Sulla; 
he would probably have treated him with the honor due to 
a brave but fallen enemy. 

Caesar spent the rest of the year 48 B.C., and part of the 
following year, in Egypt and Asia Minor, setting the affairs 
of Egypt in order, and subduing Pharnaces, king of Pontus, 
who had taken the opportunity of the civil war to rise in 
revolt. 

In 47 B.C. Caesar returned to Rome, after an absence of two 
years. Twice more in his life did he take up arms. In 46 

404 End of ^'^' ^^ ^^^ forced to conduct a campaign in Africa 
civil war against the remnants of the republican party under the 

leadership of Metellus Scipio and Cato. He made short 
work of them : he met and defeated Scipio near Thapsus ; 
shortly afterward, Cato took his own life in the city of Utica, 
not far from the ancient site of Carthage, rather than fall into 
the hands of the enemy. The following year, Caesar made his 
last campaign against the sons of Pompey in Spain, where 
they had gathered the remnants of their father's legions and 



C^SAR AND POMPEY 391 

a corps of native troops who loved their father well. Here 
again Caesar was victorious : he defeated the army of the sons 
of Fonipey at Munda, in southern Spain, and afterward hunted 
one of them to death. Then the great dictator returned to 
Kome, master of the civilized world, with not a single organ- 
ized military force in the whole empire to oppose him. 

For one year more, Caesar continued to rule the Roman 
world ; this brief period, with the few short months which 
he had spent in Rome in the intervals between his cam- 405. Caesar 
paigns against Pompey and the republicans, embraces x^^^^^ 
his entire civic career ; jet in those months he succeeded world 

in making reforjiis in the constitution which gave character 
to Roman history for the next two or three hundred years. 
The influence of these reforms can be appreciated only if we 
remember that the imperial institutions which we shall study 
later owe their conception to the master mind of this one man. 
He was the first to see clearly that the Roman state was no 
longer contained within the narrow walls of Rome nor even 
within the confines of the j^eninsula of Italy. Henceforth, all 
parts of the empire were to share with Rome the benefits of the 
imperial system ; Rome was merely to be the capital from 
which the government should radiate ; here the laws were to 
be made, but everywhere from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, 
from the North Sea to the African desert, all men were to 
have equal rights. 

As the head of this vast machine, there should sit at Rome 
a dictator, who, like Caesar himself, should combine in one 
person the powers of censor, tribune, and commander of the 
army. The change was to be accomplished by reducing the 
power of the Senate and by leaving the assemblies little or 
nothing to do. In the provinces, taxation w^as to be reduced, 
the system of selling the revenues was to be abolished, and 
a system of imperial tax collectors established. Governors, 
too, were to be directly responsible to the dictator, and not to 



392 



THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 



the Senate as of old. As soon as they were ready, the provin- 
cials were to be admitted to all the privileges of citizens ; thus 
would the distinction between Italian and provincial disap- 
pear. Finally, Italy was to be regenerated by planting colo- 
nies, by encouraging farming, and by making the waste places 
fit for aerriculture. 




SCALE OF MILES 

' 200 ' 400 ' C60 



Roman Power in 4i b.c. 



For one brief year, if we except the wars which were going 

on in the east against the Parthians, the empire enjoyed abso- 

^ ,^ lute peace under the wise rule of the dictator. Yet even 
406. Death ^ 

of Caesar in that year there existed within the city a considerable 

(44 B.C.) party whose members could not rest, either because they 
hated Caesar personally, or because they still clung to the 
dream that the Eoman republic was not dead, but simply over- 
borne by the will of a new tyrant. Among the leaders of this 
party were Marcus Brutus aud Gains Cassius, whose names 
have been immortalized in Shakespeare's tragedy of Julius 
Ccesar. 

They succeeded, by careful manipulation, in drawing into 
the conspiracy some seventy or eighty discontented senators, 
and then, when all was ready, they determined upon the mur- 



C^SAR AND POMPEY 



398 



der of Caesar, and fixed the Ides of March (March 15), 44 
B.C., as the day when the deed should be done. The plan was 
carried through : on the day appointed, Caesar died, pierced by 
twenty-three wounds. 

If, however, these men really expected that the republic 
would again spring into life, they were soon disabused of 
the idea. Within a month or two they found that they had 
simply exchanged a great master for others far less worthy. 




The Death of C^sar. (Painting l)y Rochenrosse.) 

Caesar died the greatest man that Kome ever produced. His 
life has left an indelible impress u|)on the world's history in 
every direction. Equally great as a general, as a statesman, 
and as a lawgiver, he combined in his one person gifts such 
as but two or three men in the world's history have possessed. 
Had he lived to perfect his Avork, the whole history of the 
Eoman empire might have been different ; in his death Rome 
lost a man such as the ancient world was never to see again. 



394 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC 

Mommsen, As a German historian says, " Csesar was the entire and 
hk. V. ch. 11 perfect man." 



From the conference at Lucca, in 56 e.g., to the battle of 
Pharsalus in 48 B.C., Koman history is simple; its single mo- 

407 Sum- ^^^^ ^^ ^^^® struggle for sole dominion between two men. 

mary Qn the one side stood Pompey, too weak to make his hght 

alone, aud consequently joining forces with the party which 
still hoped for the reestablishment of the ancient republic ; on 
the other stood Caesar, who saw clearly what he wished to 
accomplish, and advanced steadily toward his goal. 

After the battle of Pharsalus, Caesar was sole master of the 
empire, though he still had to fight for three years to rid himself 
of the remnants of the opposition. Then he set himself to 
reorganize the empire, and it was not his fault that he did not 
finish this mighty work. The failure was due to those mis- 
taken zealots who still hoped to revivify the corpse of the an- 
cient commonwealth. Nevertheless, the work had advanced so 
far when Caesar died, in the year 44 b.c, that it went on under 
the guidance of other men. The real tragedy of this troubled 
period is not the assassination of Caesar, nor even the end of 
the Roman republic, but the fact that so much 'bravery, pa- 
triotism, and human blood had been spent, and that peace, 
order, and national unity had not yet been reached. 

TOPICS 

Suggestive (1) What was the cause of Pompey 's failure and of Csesar's 

^^^^^ success ? (2) Was the Roman government better off under Csesar 

than under the optimates ? (3) Had Pompey and the optimates 
conquered Csesar, would the republic have been restored ? Give 
your reasons. (4) With what man of modern times would you 
compare Caesar as to the manner in which supreme power was at- 
tained, and as to nulitary and administrative ability ? (5) How far 
back would it have been necessary to begin in order to avoid having 
such a power as Csesar ? Give your reasons. (6) Compare Caesar 
with Marius and Sulla. (7) Why did Csesar not restore the re- 



C^SAR AND POMPEY 



395 



public ? (8) Was Cciesar justified in crossing tlie Rubicon when 
he knew that it would bring an end to the republic ? (9) Why- 
were the optimates in favor of the republic ? How do you account 
for the fact that the populares supported Csesar ? (10) Why was 
it possible for Csesar to bring so many parts of the Roman world 
under his control so quickly ? 

(11) The career of Crassus. (12) The Parthians. (13) Politi- 
cal clubs in Rome. (1-4) The crossing of the Rubicon. (15) Caesar 
as a military commander. (16) Greek cities on the northwestern 
coast of the Mediterranean. (17) Csgsar as a writer. (18) The 
battle of Pharsalus. (19) Marcus Brutus. (20) Gains Cassius. 
(21) The assassination of Csesar. 



Search 
topics 



REFERENCES 



See maps, pp. 216, 217, 331, 392, 3;)6, 397. 



Geography 



How and Leigh, Histoi'y of Borne, chs. 1-lii. ; Shuckburgh, ^^f^'^?,. 

' ° authorities 

History of Borne, ch. xlv. ; Mommsen, History of Bome^ bk. v. 

chs. viii.-xi. ; Merivale, History of the Bomans under the Empire, 

II. chs. xiii.-xxii., — Boman Triumvirates, chs. vi.-viii. ; Allcroft, • 

The Making of the Monarehy, chs, x. xi. ; E. S. Beesly, Catiline, 

Clodius, and Tiberius ; Dodge, CcBsar, chs. xxvi.-xlvi. ; Froude, 

Ccesar, chs. xx.-xxviii. ; Fowler, Julius Ccesar, chs. xi.-xix. ; 

Strachan-Davidson, Cicero, chs. vii.-xiii. ; Forsyth, Cicero, chs. 

xviii. ff. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. v. ch. i. ; 

Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Borne, chs. xiv. 

XV. ; Duruy, History of Borne, III. chs. Iv.-lviii. ; Mackail, 

Latin Literature, pt. i. ch. vii. ; Simcox, Latin Literature, I. pt. 

ii. ch. iii. ; F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Listitutions, ch. vi. ; 

Van Santvoord, The House of Ccesar. 

Appian, Civil Wars, hk. ii. chs. iii.-xxi., — Foreign Wars, bk. Sources 
xii. §§ 120, 121 ; Livy, Ex)itome, bks. cix.-cxvi ; Plutarch, Lives, 
Pompey, Csesar, Crassus, Cato the younger, Antony, Cicero, 
Brutus; Csesar, Civil War; Hirtius (?), African War, — Alexan- 
drian War; Cicero, Orations (especially those between 57-52 
B.C., and 47-46 b.c), — Letters; Suetonius, Lives, Julius Csesar, 
Augustus ; Floras, bk. iv. ch. ii. ; Velleius Paterculus, bk. ii. 
chs. xlviii.-lviii. ; Lucan, Pharsalia. 

See chapter xxx. of this book ; Shakespeare, Julius Ccesar. Illustrative 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE FIRST CENTURY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

C^esak's assassins seem to have had no definite plans for the 
future : no doubt they expected the Romans to rise and pro- 
408 Antony claim them as benefactors ; but they found to their dis- 
successorto niay that the common people had long since lost all 
enthusiasm for the republic. The conspiracy accom- 
plished nothing for the Liberators, as they were pleased to 
call themselves, and left to the state only a heritage of another 
decade of civil war. 

The first fruit of the murder fell to a friend of Caesar, 
Marcus Antonius, or Antony, as he is called in modern times. 
By using Caesar's will to his advantage, within a month he 
had made himself dictator in Rome, and for a short time lorded 
it over the city in a way that Caesar had never thought of 
doing. A new man now appeared on the scene, Gains Octavius, 
a youth of less than twenty years, the grandnephew of Csesar, 
designated in the dead man's will as heir to his name and 
fortunes. Octavius at once assumed the name of Caesar, thus 
declaring to the world that he regarded himself as the successor 
of the dictator. Antony, however, was already too well in- 
trenched in his position as po^mlar leader for Octavius to 
hope to assume control of affairs ; therefore, he was obliged 
to make overtures to the senatorial party, and by the end of 
the year Octavius, the leader of the Caesariaus, and Cicero, 
the leader of the republicans, were apparently fast friends. 
This friendship had no solid basis ; Octavius, as we shall see, 
threw over his ally the moment he had established himself 

398 



THE FIRST CENTURY 

sufficiently to do without his aid ; and Cicero was very frank 
in declaring from the start that "the young man was to Cicero, Let- 
he praised, complimented, and got rid of.'' f^^s> ^^- ^^ 

The support of Octavius and of the A-eterans of Caesar, who 
had flocked to the standard of the young man, enabled Cicero 

to begin a vigorous and characteristic attack on the ^«„ « 

409. Octa- 
authority of Antony ; he poured out in a series of ora- vius fights 

tions known as the Philippics from their resemblance to control 

the orations of Demosthenes against Philip, a torrent of in- 
vective which acknowledged not one shred of patriotism in 
the man who had dared to erect a new tyranny on the ruins 
of Caesar's power. Such violence did no good ; it was in the 
field and not in the Forum that the final struggle must be 
fought out. Late in the year 44 b.c. the forces of the republi- 
can party, led by the two consuls and Octavius, met Antony in 
battle at Mutina in Cisalpine Gaul and defeated him. 

The two consids were killed in the struggle, and thereupon 
Octavius demanded as the reward for his aid that the consul- 
ship for the unexpired term should be bestowed upon him. 
When the Senate hesitated, lest they should simply be putting 
another tyrant in the place of the one who had just been 
defeated, there came a significant and decisive hint, thus 

described by a contemporary : '^ A centurion, who had 

•^ ^ -^ ' Suetonuis, 

come at the head of a delegation to make the request in Augustus, 
the name of Octavius, throwing back his cloak and show- 
ing the hilt of his sword, had the presumption to say in the 
Senate House, ' This will make him consul if you will not.' " 

The Senate could make but one reply to the argument of 
force, which had long since become the only effective argu- 
ment in Rome. Octavius was granted the consulship, and 
thus he, and not Antony, gained the advantage of official and 
legal position. Yet so long as Antony had an army, he was 
still a factor in Koman affairs ; for after his defeat at Mutina, 
he had marched across the Alps and joined forces with Lepidus 



XZVl. 




400 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

in Transalpine Gaul ; and speedily the two allies appeared in 
Cisalpine Gaul once more. 

Early in 43 b.c. Octavius marched north to encounter Antony 

and Lepidus; before trying the argument of arms, the three 

410. The "^^1^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^ small island in a river 

second tri- ^^q^^ Bononia (Bologna). There they 
umvirate , . „ , ^ 

formed agreed to cease their wariare and to 

(43 B.C.) divide all the lands and all the power 

of the Roman empire. From Bononia, the 

three new associates, known henceforth as 

the second triumvirate, marched south to ^ , 

' Coin of Lepidus. 

take possession of the city of Rome. Once 

more the methods of Marius and Sulla were resorted to; 

once more proscription lists were posted in the Forum, and 

, . " straiarhtway, . . . wherever the victims happened to be 

Civil Wars, found, there Avere sudden arrests aud murders in various 

^ • ' "^ forms, and decapitations for the sake of the rewards 

when the heads should be shown." 

Among the victims was Cicero, who now paid for his opposi- 
tion to Antony with his life. His last days are the only ones 
which merit our sincere admiration : earlier he had shifted 
from side to side, mainly because he had never known his own 
mind ; from the day of Caesar's death, he had stood firmly for 
the cause of the republic, and though we now recognize that 
the cause was unworthy, we may still admire the man who 
fought for it sincerely. Like Demosthenes, to whom he 
loved to compare himself, Cicero took the losing side; like 
him, he paid for his bitter words with his life. 

By vigorous proscriptions and by a judicious distribution of 

the spoils, the triumvirs speedily made their position in Italy 

411 End of ^^^"i"^- Then they turned their attention to their ene- 

Roman mies in the east, whither Cassius and Brutus and many of 

repu ic ^^^ other conspirators had fled, and where they had been 

collecting a formidable army for over a year. Lepidus was 



THE FIRST CENTURY 401 

left behind to look after Italy and the west. In Thrace, near 
Philippi, Antony and Octavius met the armies of Brutus and 
Cassius, and in two battles completely defeated them (42 b.c). 
Both the republican leaders died by their own hands on the 
battlefield, and thus the hopes of their party came to an end. 

For full three quarters of a century the republic had been 
slowly dying ; many times it had seemed that life was extinct; 
each time it had revived; but at last the great and powerful 
oligarchy was overthrown. With all its shortcomings, it had 
accomplished a splendid task : it had added vast territories to 
the Eoman domain; it had furnished a long line of states- 
men and generals; it had prepared the way for the wonderful 
imperial organization which followed. If the history of the 
decay of the republic is a melancholy story, the history of its 
conquests is no less a stirring romance. 

From the day of the battle of Philippi, it was only a ques- 
tion of time when one or the other of the tAvo victors would 
become sole master of the empire. Already Lepidus had ..„ p 
become little more than a name in the triumvirate ; and tion of the 
Octavius and Antony calmly divided the empire between empire 

them, giving scarcely a thought to his claims. 

In the division, Octavius received the west ; here one or two 
minor revolts were easily suppressed, and then the young 
Csesar w^as allowed to sit quietly for a time and enjoy what his 
sword had won. In less than two years, he had grown from 
an obscure boy of nineteen to one of the most powerful men 
in the Avorld. 

In the east, which had been assigned to Antony, the prob- 
lems were more serious, for many of the followers of Brutus 
and Cassius were still in arms. Antony might easily have 
conquered them, had he not fallen a victim to the wiles of 
Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. " From the moment that he ^ . 
met her, Antony's interest in public affairs began to Civil Wars, 
dwindle. Whatever Cleopatra ordered was done, regard- ^'' ' ' 



402 



THE ROMAN EMPIIIE 



less of laws, human or divine." Like an obedient slave, 
Antony followed her to Alexandria, and abandoned himself 
to a life of slothful idleness. 

Though it angered Octavius that Antony should have fallen 
so completely into the hands of the Egyptian (pieen, neverthe- 
less it fell in well 
with his 



413. End 

of the enough 



struggle 



plans ; sooner or 
later he hoped to be sole 
master of the empire; and 
this faithlessness of his 
colleague gave him an 
easy opportunity to pick 
a quarrel. Several times 
in the next decade, the 
two men came to the 
verge of war, but each 
time their differences 
were composed and the 
alliance was continued, 
till, in 32 b.c, the storm 
finally broke. 

For a year the two 




Cleopatra. 



parties maneuvered ; and From a painting on slate found at Tivoli, 

then, in 31 b.c, they met 

in a naval battle off Actium on the west coast of Cxreece. 

Antony and Cleopatra (who was present at the battle) were 

completely defeated. In the midst of the battle, Cleopatra's 

squadron ran away, and, like the slave that he was, " Antony 
Paterculus, chose rather to be the companion of a flying queen than 
ii. 85 Qf 2i fighting soldiery; and the general, whose duty it had 

been to punish deserters, became himself a deserter from his 

own army." 

The battle of Actium reallv ends the last of the civil wars 



THE FIRST CENTURY 



403 



which marked the decay of the republic. Antony and Cleopatra 
retired into Egypt and there kept up a feeble resistance ; but 
when Octavius arrived in Egypt next year, he found the task 
of dispersing their forces easy. Within the year, both Antony 
and Cleopatra were dead, and then Octavius might regard him- 
self as sole emperor. 

Octavius returned to Rome in January, 27 b.c, after an 
absence of four years, and laid at the feet of the Senate all the 
extraordinary powers which he had exercised since he 414. New 

became a member of the second triumvirate. Apparently imperial 

jTi . govern- 

he was ready to assume an undistinguished place as one ment 

among all the senators; in reality, both he and every other 
Roman citizen knew that what 
he resigned would immedi- 
ately be conferred upon him 
ao^ain ; Octavius had no in- 
tention to revive the repub- 
lic : all that he wished was the 
sanction of the constituted 
authorities for the new powers 
which he was about to assume. 
Immediately upon his resig- 
nation, the Senate conferred 
upon Octavius, henceforth 
known as Augustus, the vari- 
ous functions which he had 
just surrendered. Thus was 
the legal foundation laid for 
what we shall henceforth 
know as the Roman empire. 

The theory of the new imperial government was compli- 
cated, yet the key to the situation lies in one fact, which 
should be thoroughly mastered: ostensibly, the old republic 
was never abolished, so that in theory the power of Augustus 




Augustus. 

\'atican, Rome. Executed about 15 
B.C. The emperor is addressing 



liis troops. 



404 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

and his immediate successors was the gift of the republican 
Senate ; in reality, whatever power the emperor wanted, the 
Senate was compelled to grant him, because it knew that 
there stood behind him the entire military force of the 
empire. 

First the Senate conferred upon him the honorary titles of 
Augustus (the Kenowned), by which he was henceforth known, 
and of irrinceps, the prince or first citizen in the state. 
of the Furthermore, he was made pontifex maximus, — chief 

emperor ppiest and religious arbiter in E-ome, — and also impera- 
tor, commander-in-chief of all the Roman armies, by which 
title all the later emperors were known. Next, he was in- 
vested with the proconsular imperiiim, that is, he became gov- 
ernor in all the provinces which he cared to take under his 
personal rule. Finally, he was given the authority of a per- 
petual tribune, and thus by the exercise of his veto he could 
control all elections and all action in the legislative bodies. 

These titles and powers, which in theory were the revocable 
gift of the Senate, made their possessor absolute master of the 
government. Though the fiction of the republic was main- 
tained, though all the magistrates were elected every year, 
though all the powers of the emperor were carefully concealed 
under this elaborate system of legal fictions, the supreme master 
in Eome was Augustus, and Augustus alone. 

In the last days of the republic, the administration of the 

Roman domains had completely broken down: Italy had been 

allowed practically to shift for itself ; and the provinces, 

ization of as we have seen, were organized merely for the plunder 

the empire ^yhich the governors could extract from them. From 

the establishment of the empire, all this was changed. Rome, 

Italy, and the provinces were all carefully organized. 

Within the city there were three special officers — the prcB- 
fectus urhis, a sort of mayor, the prmfectus vigilum, a chief 
of fire and police, and the proefectus annonaej the warden of 



THE FIRST CENTURY 405 

the grain supply for distribution among the citizens — besides 
a number of petty officers. Italy beyond the city was divided 
into eleven administrative districts, each under the charge ol a 
special officer. The provinces were divided into two classes : 
the senatorial provinces, in which the governors were elected 
by the Senate ; and the imperial provinces, which the Senate 
had conferred upon the emperor, and which were ruled by 
imperial legates. Over all the emperor exercised a direct con- 
trol, and gradually peace and prosperity revived, especially in 
the provinces, till the name of Rome came to be blessed instead 
of execrated in the ancient world. 

Augustus depended to some extent upon the aid which the 
Senate could give him in the government of the empire, but 
much more upon the vigor and ability of subordinates ,,_, . 
})ersonally attached to him. Hence in time there grew of theem- 
up an extensive retinue of imperial servants who admin- ^^^ ^ 

istered the empire in the name of their master and practically 
disregarded the authority of the Senate. Among these impe- 
rial servants of Augustus, two were preeminent : Agrippa and 
Maecenas. The former, a school friend of Augustus, an active 
and resourceful man, devoted his whole life to the advancement 
of his master's fortunes, and supplied the military talent which 
Augustus lacked. Maecenas, a lover of ease and luxury in 
private life, and a friend to many of the literary men of his 
day, in his public capacity was a clever, shrewd diplomat, who 
won his way by tact and courtesy where other men failed 
because of their clumsiness. 

When Augustus became emperor, the Roman dominions 
extended from the eastern extremity of Asia Minor westward 
to the Atlantic ; from the iS'orth Sea southward to Sahara. 418. The 
A glance at the map will show that the empire could Danube 

be extended farther in only two directions : to the north frontier 
and to the east. The east was blocked by the Parthians, 
who had been a source of trouble to the Romans since the days 



^06 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



of Pompey, and against them Augustus was content to main- 
tain his frontier intact without carrying on active war. On 
the north, Augustus strove to extend his frontier to the line of 
the Elbe and the Danube. 

To accomplish this great purpose the emperor's two stepsons, 
Tiberius and Drusus, both able commanders, were assigned to 




The Pantheon of Agkippa, Rome. 
Supposed to have been a "temple to all the gods. 



the armies of the north. Tiberius speedily conquered the hos- 
tile tribes along the southern banks of the Danube, and estab- 
lished three important provinces : Pannonia, Noricum, and 
Moesia. Drusus had a much more difficult task ; but he fought 
on bravely against the tribes northeast of the Khine till he 
died (9 b.c), when Tiberius was transferred to complete his 
Paterculus task. Soon the conquest was finished. " The whole ex- 
tent of Germany was traversed by our army ; " says Pater- 



It. 106 



THE FIRST CENTURY 407 

cuius, "nations were conquered that were almost unknown 
to us by name. ... In short, what had never before been 
hoped for, much less attempted, was accomplished ; the Roman 
army carried its standards to the distance of four hundred 
miles from the Rhine to the Elbe." 

Had Tiberius remained in Germany, the country might have 
been thoroughly Romanized ; but he was withdrawn, and Varus, 
an utterly incompetent man, was sent into Germany in his 419. i,oss 
stead. The half-conquered Germans completely deluded °^ Germany 
Varus, and " at length lulled him into such a feeling of Paterculus, 
security that he fancied himself a city praetor dispensing **• ^^^ 

justice in the Forum, instead of a commander of an army in 
the middle of Germany." 

Varas's lack of judgment speedily brought about one of the 
most crushing disasters that ever befell the Roman arms. 
The Germans broke out into open revolt, and under the 
leadership of Hermann, one of their chiefs, succeeded in 
drawing Amarus into an ambush in the Teutoburg forest, where 
they defeated him so completely that only a remnant of his 
army returned to Gaul to tell the tale (9 a.d.). The battle of 
the Teutoburg forest practically settled for all time the north- 
ern frontier of the empire ; though the Romans returned to the 
attack some years later, they never succeeded in regaining a 
foothold beyond the Rhine. From this time forward, the 
Rhine and not the Elbe was the recognized frontier between 
the Roman and the German. 

The wars of Augustus were after all less important than 

his works of peace. In his memoirs, the emperor boasts that 

" Janus Quirinus, which it was the purpose of our fathers 420. Era of 

to close only when there was peace throughout the empire peace and 
•^ 1 o 1 content- 

on land and sea won by victory, and which before I was ment 

born, from the foundation of the city, is reported to Deeds of 

have been closed but twice in all, the Senate three times Augustus, 

ordered to be closed while I was Princeps." Augustus 



408 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



was not idle during these periods of peace ; year after year 

he devoted large sums of money to the erection of magnificent 

buildings, to the reconstruction of public works, and to the 

„ ^ . adornment of the city. "He boasted, and not without 

Augustus, reason," says Suetonius, "that he found the city built 

'''''''• of brick, but left it built of marble." 

Much of this activity was possible only because trade and 

commerce flourished. Friendly relations were maintained with 

the races of the farthest corners of the known world ; Augustus 

Deeds of ^^ii^self speaks of embassies " sent to me from the kings 

Augustus, of India, a thing never before seen in the case of any 

ruler of the Eomans " ; and some of the harbors, moles, 

and docks which Augustus built are still extant. Thus in the 

reign of the first em- 
peror the benefits of 
the imperial system 
began to make them- 
selves manifest, and 
when Augustus came 
to die, he could look 
back upon forty-one 
years of almost un- 
broken peace and pros- 
perity. For the good 
that he had done, 
the Romans immortalized his name and placed his image in 
the house of their gods. 

Augustus was succeeded in 14 a.d. by his stepson Tiberius. 
So far as the government of the provinces was concerned, the 
421. Reign i"^^!® of Tiberius was but a continuation of the policy of 
Augustus. Though the people of the city hated him, 

though they invoked "the earth, the common mother 
Suetonius, ^ ^ 

Tiberius, of all, and the imperial gods to allow him no abode 
Ixxv. ^^ death but among the wicked," yet the provincials 




Remains of a Bridge of Augustus on 
THE River Nera, Italy. 



of Tiberius 
(14-37 A.D.) 



THE FIRST CENTURY 



409 



loved him, for, as Tacitus tells us, " he took care that 
the provinces should not be opjjressed by new imposi- 
tions ; that the exacting burdens should not be rendered 
intolerable by the rapacity and severity of the magistrates." 
However he may have treated the impecunious senators who 
were constantly clamoring for more and more in the way of 



Tacitus, 

Annals, 

iv. 7 







SCALE OF MILES 
6 ' 20O ' 40O ' C()0 



Roman Empire in 14 a.d. 

donatives from the emperor, and were constantly conspiring 
to revive the corpse of the republic ; however he may have 
treated the rabble who were crying out for more bread and 
more public shows, he was uniformly considerate in his treat- 
ment of the provincials, aud they honored him for his justice. 
Within the city, conspiracv and treachery were often 
renewed, and there were loud and constant cries from the 
hungry populace for more bread. In order to suppress ^^g j^^^ 
the discontent, Tiberius made the laws for the punish- content in 
ment of treason more and more severe. In ancient 
Rome there were no public prosecutors like our modern dis- 
trict attorneys, and the emperor allowed private persons, called 



WOLF. ANC. HIST. 



■25 



410 



^HE ROMAN EMPIRE 



delators, to bring accusations of treason against any one they 
pleased, and, in case of conviction, allowed them a certain 
percentage of the fines. The result can be easily imagined; 
great injustice was done in the name of the law, and the very 
mention of the name of the emperor became the signal for the 
wildest execrations on the part of the citizens. In the end, 
Tiberius became a morose and savage man; and to avoid the 
very sight of the city which he hated most bitterly, he with- 




Capre^. 

drew to Caprese, in the Bay of Naples, where he spent the last 

years of his life, intrusting the government entirely to his 

lieutenants. 

The first of these lieutenants was Sejanus, the prsefect of 

the praetorian guards, the personal troops of the emperor. By 
42*? p flattery and chicanery Sejanus raised himself till he 

torian con- had gained almost complete control of the empire ; prob- 
spiracies ^^^^ j^^ intended to assassinate Tiberius and to rule in 

his stead; but before he could compass his ends he was 



THE FIRST CENTURY 411 

deposed from his office and put to death. Sejanus was suc- 
ceeded by Macro, who was as faithless as his predecessor, for 
in the end he aided Gains, the grandnephew and heir of Tibe- 
rius, to hasten the death of his granduncle and to seize the 
throne. 

Tiberius had been cruel toward the citizens of Eome, but at 
least he had acted from a sense of right and duty. He was 
succeeded by Gains, popularly known as Caligula (Little 424. Calig- 

Boots), a nickname which his father's soldiers had be- J^^^ f.^*^ 
^' Claudius 

stowed upon him because as a child he wore the boots (37-54 A.D.) 
of a Roman legionary. His reign was a nightmare for the 
citizens of Rome, for he indulged himself in all sorts of 
caprices, which left the life of no one safe within the city. 
During four years he abandoned himself to violence and 
debauchery, which ended only with his death. 

Caligula left no heirs. When his death was announced to 
the Senate, the members, many of whom still cherished the 
dream that the republic might be resuscitated, began to dis- 
cuss the feasibility of reestablishing the old form of govern- 
ment. While the Senate was debating, the army was acting: 
ranging through the palace in quest of booty, they came upon 
Claudius, an uncle of the dead emperor, and, half in earnest, 
half in jest, set him up as their candidate for the throne. 
Naturally the Senate acquiesced, for by this time every Roman 
understood that the will of the army was the law of the state ; 
and thus was inaugurated the dangerous policy of a military 
despotism, which from age to age returned to plague the 
Roman state. 

Though Claudius is often spoken of as the imperial fool, 
his reign is nevertheless notable for his enlightened govern- 
ment of the provinces. He deprived the Roman nobles 425. Pro- 
of almost all power in the government of the Roman Y-^^^^J 
dominions, and intrusted the administration to his Claudius 
household subordinates, usually freedmen upon whose fidelity 



412 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



he could rely. The result was wholly beneficial, for the 
freedmen were either natives of the provinces or descendants 
of provincials, and therefore thoroughly conversant with the 
problems of their government. Furthermore, the administra- 
tion went on, irrespective of all court intrigues and scandals, 
and thus the provinces prospered even when the court was 
wholly corrupt. 




Tacitus 
Annals, 
xi. 24 



Ruins of thk Ci^^llhas Ai^lkjjuct. 

The aqueduct built by Claudius was one of twelve which brought the water 
supply for Rome. 

Claudius did more for the provinces than merely to improve 
their organization, for he revived the idea that the provincial 
was as good as the Koman, and should be given rights and privi- 
leges as fast as he was ready for them, " My ancestors," 



he says, 



furnish me with a lesson which I ought 



to follow in directing the affairs of the commonwealth. I 
ought to incorporate into the Roman system everything that 
is of preeminent merit, wherever found. . . . What else proved 
the bane of Sparta and Athens, though potent in arms, than 



THE FIHsr CENTURY 



413 



that they treated the conquered as aliens and refused to unite 

with them ? " Under this maxim, he did everything that he 

coukl do to break down the barrier between the Roman and 

the provincial : new provinces were created, among them the 

southern part of the island of Britain ; new conventions 

were made with dependent kings; and the great protective 

privilege of Roman citizenship was bestowed upon all who 

were worthy of the Roman name. 

Claudius died in 54 a.d., and was succeeded by his stepson 

Nero, a descendant of Augustus, who combined the claims of 

legitimacy with those of ,„„ . 

military force. By liberal of Nero (54- 

bribes and promises of ' '-^ 

privileges, he gained the favor 

of the praetorian guard, and, as 

Tacitus says, " The voice ^ ., 

•^ ' Tacitus, 

of the soldiers was fol- 
lowed by the decree of 
the Senate ; nor was there any 
hesitation in the provinces." 
During the first eight or ten 
years of his reign, his conduct 
was controlled largely by his 
ministers, Burrhus and Seneca, 
and all went well ; when they 
died, he abandoned himself to 
a life of debauchery and ex- 
travagance such as the city had not seen since the days of 
Caligula. All his passions w^ere allowed to run riot, and the 
Romans were in constant terror, for no man knew what the 
emperor might do next. 

In 64 A.D., a great fire devastated the city, and the rumor 
spread that Nero himself had laid the torch, so that he might 
rebuild the city to suit his fancy. To appease the citizens, 




Annals, 
xii. 69 



Neko. 
Louvre, Paris. 



414 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

Nero turned upon the Christians, then just beginning to be 

noticeable in the city, and fiercely persecuted them. This first 

persecution of the Christians is an important episode in the 

history of Christianity, and is treated more fully in a later 

chapter. 

Nero continued in his wanton path for three or four years 

427. Revo- more ; then a storm of indignation broke out, and the 

lution of emperor paid for his misrule with his life. In the year 
68—69 A.D. 

68 A.D., Tacitus says, "a secret of empire was revealed; 

/ CtCl/ZXiS « 

Histories, namely, that an emperor could be created elsewhere than 
'■ ^ in Kome." Hitherto, all emperors had practically been 

the choice of the praetorian guard ; now the provincial armies 
for the first time conceived the idea that they too might set 
up a candidate for emperor. In 68 a.d. Galba, who was 
in command of the armies in Gaul and Spain, was pro- 
claimed as emperor by his troops, and marched to Eome and 
deposed Nero, who fled from the city and ultimately committed 
suicide. 

Two years of almost complete anarchy followed, which 
reproduced the conditions of the earlier civil wars. In those 
years four claimants contended for the throne : Galba, who 
came out of the west; Otho, who was the choice of the 
praetorian guard ; Vitellius, who commanded the legions 
in the north ; and Vespasian, who was supported by the 
armies of Syria and the east. In the struggle, many battles 
were fought and many lives were lost, but the only fact of 
permanent importance in the history of the two years is that 
the real power in the empire was shown to be with the army, 
and that from this time the armies in the provinces were to be 
as important a factor in the state as the praetorian guard, 
which up to this time had claimed the exclusive privilege of 
designating the emperor. 

The two years of anarchy ended when Vespasian ascended 
the throne. With his accession began an era of contentment 



THE FIRST CENTURY 415 

which lasted, with but one interruption, for more than a 
century. Of this happy era we shall learn more in the follow- 
ing chapter. 

Caesar's death was closely followed by the tyranny of 
Antony; but within the year Octavius appeared. First the 
two men fought each other at Mutina; then they joined 428. Sum- 
forces in the coalition with Lepidus known as the second mary 

triumvirate. In 42 b.c. they destroyed the armies of Brutus 
and Cassius at Philippi, and thus ended the last hope for the 
reestablishnient of the republic. Eleven years later (31 B.C.), 
Antony and Octavius met in battle at Actium ; Antony was 
defeated, and thereafter there was but one lord in the em- 
pire, — Octavius. In 27 b.c. the new form of government 
was formally recognized, and Octavius became Augustus, the 
head of the Roman world. 

Under the new system the fiction of the republic was still 
maintained, and all the powers that the emperor wielded were 
carefully concealed under the theory that they had been 
bestowed upon him as a free-will gift by the Senate. The 
fiction was gradually exploded by the succeeding imperial 
elections, for each new emperor took his seat, not by the favor 
of the Senate, but by the Avill of the army. The army and not 
the Senate was the real sovereign ; thus the government in 
reality ceased to be a constitutional regime and became a mili- 
tary despotism. 

Yet this great military organism brought comparative peace 
into the Roman dominions ; the old constitutional oligarchy, 
which we have studied as the republic, had failed to unify the 
peninsula of Italy and the great world of the provinces 
beyond ; by the time of Vespasian the military monarchy was 
far advanced in the accomplishment of this work ; and in 
the next century the unification of the Roman world was 
altogether accomplished. In the words of the modern his- 



416 



THE KOMAN EMPIRE 



Seeley, 
Roman 



torian Seeley, "After the new system had been per- 
/; I erial nianently settled in the tranquillity of the Augustan age, 
ism, ch. 1 the great change which had passed over the empire was 
found to be this : a standing army had been created and 
thoroughly organized; a uniform taxation had been estab- 
lished throughout the empire ; and a new set of officials had 
been created, all of a military character, all wielding greater 
power than the republic had been accustomed to intrust to 
its officials, but, on the other hand, all subject to the effective 
and rigorous control of the emperor. In other words, in the 
place of anarchy, there had come centralization and responsi- 
bility." 

TOPICS 
(1) Why did not the murder of Cajsar restore the republic ? 
(2) Where was Octavius when Csesar was murdered ? (8) What 
was the first triumvirate ? Compare it with the second. (4) What 
were proscription lists? (5) Trace the downfall of the republic 
step by step. When did it begin ? (6) What territories had the 
republic added to the domain of Rome ? (7) Who were the most 
famous statesmen of the Roman republic ? (8) Who were the most 
famous generals of the Roman republic ? (9) Was the empire or 
the republic better for the Roman world at this time ? Give your 
reasons. (10) Into what conflicts had the Romans and the Ger- 
mans come before 9 a.d. ? (11) Why was it impossible for an 
emperor to rule in a manner which would be popular in Rome and 
also in the provinces?^ (12) What body really determined who 
should rule Rome during the early empire ? 

(13) Character of Antony. (14) Queen Cleopatra. (15) The 
youth of Octavius. (16) Cicero as a statesman. (17) Battle 
of Philippi. (18) The Pontifex Maximus. (19) The Parthians. 
(20) Tlie defeat of Varus. (21) The character of Tiberius. 
(22) Sejanus. (23) Tiberius as a general. (24) The conquest 
of Britain. (25) Nero in Greece. 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 396, 397, 409. 

Bury, StudenVs Boman Empire, chs. i.-xix. ; Shuckburgh, His- 
tory of Home, ch. xlvi. ; Merivale, History of the Bomans under 
the Empire (m.-VI."). chs. xxiii.-lvi., — Boman Triumvirates, 



THE FIKST CENTURY 417 

chs. ix.-xii. ; Arnold, Bomau Provincial Administration, ch. iii. ; 
Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire^ especially clis. i, 
iv. V. vii. xii. ; Allcroft, The Making of the Monarchy, chs. xii, 
xiii. ; Allcroft and Haydon, Early Principate, chs. i.-xv. ; Beesly. 
Catiline, Clodius, and Tiberius ; Capes, Early Empire, chs. i.-ix. 
xii.-xix. ; Telham, Outlines of Roman History, bk. v. chs. ii.-iv. ; 
Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Rome, chs. xvi.- 
xix. ; Dyer, City of Rome, pp. 168-237 ; Duruy, History of Rome 
(III. IV.. v.), clis. lix.-lxxvi. ; F. F. Abbott, Roman Political Insti- 
tutions, chs. vii. xii. xiii. xvii.-xxi. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical Sources 
Sources in Schools, § 25; Tacitus, ^«?ia?s, bks. i.-vi., xi.-xvi., 
— Histories, hks. i.-iii. ; Appian, Civil Wars, bks. iii.-v. ; Livy, 
Epitome, bks. cxvii.-cxlii. ; Plutarch, Lives, Galba, Otho ; Augustus, 
Deeds ; Suetonius, Lives, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, 
Nero, Galba, Otho, Yitellius ; Velleius Paterculus, bk. ii. chs. 
lix.-cxxxi. ; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, bks. xv.-xix. ; Petro- 
nius, Trimalchio's Dinner ; Florus, bk. iv. chs. iii. -xii. ; Eusebius, 
Ecclesiastical History, bks. i. ii., bk. iii. chs. i.-iv. ; Eutropius, 
Compendium of Roman History, bk. vii. chs. i.-xviii. 

W. A. Becker, Gallus ; J. W. Brown, Julia of Baim ; A. J. illustrative 
Church, The Burning of Rome; E. Eckstein, JVero ; F. W. Farrar, ^°^^s 
Darkness and Davn ; F. Hoffman, Greek Maid at the Court of 
Nero ; M. G. Keon, Dion and the Sybils ; Shakespeare, Antony 
and Cleopatra ; Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROMAN IMPERIALISM 



429. Re- 
sults of 
revolution 
of 68-69 
A.D. 



During the whole century from the battle of Actium to the 
fall of Nero, the Roman empire was in process of formation ; 
when Vespasian finally established himself upon the 
throne, in 69 a.d., 
the empire had as- 
sumed a form which 
it was to preserve for 
over two hundred years. 
There was no longer any- 
thing more than the mere 
pretense of free institu- 
tions, or of government by 
the people ; on the other 
hand, order was main- 
tained, and peace and pros- 
perity blessed the world. 

The revolution of 68- 
69 A.D. established two 
principles beyond a doubt : 
first, that the provincial 
armies, as well as the 
praetorian guard, might henceforth designate the emperor ; 
second, that family connections were no longer necessary for 
a man who as^Dired to the throne ; military renown, rather than 
descent from the Julian or Claudian gens, was now the pre- 
Taciius, requisite for the office. " Vespasian himself,'^ says 

T-fi (iff) vi p Q 

a, 5 ' Tacitus, " was an energetic soldier ; he could march at 

418 




Vespasian. 
Capitoline Museum, Rome. 



THE GOLDEN AGE 



419 



the head of his army, choose the place for camp, and by day 
or night bring his skill, and, if occasion required, his personal 
courage, to oppose the foe." 

Vespasian cared nothing for the gayeties and debaucheries 
of the court, and after he became emperor the government 
speedily recovered from the shock of revolution. Still, 430. Sup- 
he had two serious revolts remaining for him to crush ^^military 
after his accession. In the west, a native chief of Gaul, revolts 

Civilis, had for some years been opposing the forces of the 
empire ; and the legions of 
Vespasian had to conquer 
him and to put an end to 
his pretensions. 

The revolt of Civilis 
was unimportant, however, 
when compared with the 
rebellion of the Jews 
which had begun in 66 a.d. 
The Jewish war had gone 
against the Romans in the 
beginning ; but when Nero 
sent out Vespasian, the 
revolt was soon crushed 
out, except in the city of 
Jerusalem. After the de- 
parture of Vespasian the siege of the city was intrusted to 
his eldest son, Titus ; for some time longer the Jews, impelled 
by the thought that God was fighting on their side, maintained 
the defense of the city; but step by step they were driven 
back upon their last defenses, and when internal dissensions 
had hopelessly weakened them, Titus finally took the city, 
destroyed the Temple, and carried thousands of the Jews 
away as captives to Rome (70 a.d.). 

The reign of Vespasian begins a new era in the government 




Arch of Titus, Rome. 

The spoils of Jerusalem are shown on 

this arch. 



4:^0 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



431. Era of 

prosperity 

begins 



of the empire. By 69 a.d. many of the old Roman families, 
which had clung tenaciously to republican ideals, had become 
extinct; and their places in the Senate had been taken 



by families which came originally from the provinces. 

These new patricians, who owed their position to the 
good will of the emperor, were in thorough sympathy wdth his 
aims, and consequently, from this time forward, if we except 
the reign of Domitian, the prince and the nobles worked in 
perfect harmony for the good of the entire Koman world. 




■^ .,'3' ' J.^'/. V'- ^ "^i^te"^.*-* 



Syi'i 



Ruins of the Coliseum. 

Vespasian was endowed with many of the homely virtues 
necessary for upbuilding the state after the wild extravagance 
of Nero. He carefully reorganized the civil government of the 
empire and adopted new means for putting the finances on a 
solid basis. Indeed, so careful was he of the revenues of his 
empire that the historians never tire of telling stories of his 
sordid economies. However, he used to excellent advantage 
the money which his tax collectors caused to flow into his 
treasuries ; and the city of Eome owes to him many of its 
grandest works of art. Only one building, the Coliseum, need 
be mentioned to show the magnitude of his undertakings; 



THE GOLDEN AGE 421 

even to-day its ruins stand as one of the greatest monuments 
in tlie world. 

In 79 A.D. Vespasian died, and left liis crown to his son 
Titus. Already on return from Jerusalem, Titus had been 
associated with his father in the government, and 432. Titus, 
consequently the Roman world scarcely knew that one *^ \^^\ 
emperor had died and that another had taken his (79-81 A.D.) 
place. Both were anxious to do all they could for the 
well-being of the empire, and the chief distinction between 
them was that Titus spent his revenues liberally where 
Vespasian had hoarded them. When Titus died, after a 
reign of two years, 
the world mourned 
him as the Well-Be- 
loved emperor, be- 
cause of his many 
good deeds. 

One dramatic ca- 
tastrophe marks this Body fkom Pompeii. 
brief reign: in 79 a. d. 

Mount Vesuvius, which for some years had been giving 
evidences of renewed activity, broke forth and poured down 
its side a stream of lava which devastated the country lying 
at its base. In the eruption, the two cities of Pompeii and 
Herculaneum, filled with the evidences of a prosperous 
civilization, were buried many feet under the lava and the 
volcanic ashes. The loss of life and the shock to the Roman 
world were great; for us, however, the eruption was so far a 
fortunate occurrence, that it preserved for the excavators of 
modern times a valuable record of the civilization of the 
early empire. 

The reign of Domitian, the brother of Titus, is noted chiefly 
for renewed military activity and for the revival within 
the city of such discontent as marked the reign of Tiberius. 




422 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

The Koman legions carried their standards, under the leader- 

433. Inter- ship of Agricola, in far Britain, to the borders of modern 

lude in the Scotland. In the country beyond the Danube, Doniitian 
era of con- ,^ ^ , , , , 

tent (81-96 himself attempted to conquer the native tribes ; but he 

^•■^•^ was no soldier, and the expedition failed. 

Though the historians of his time have little that is favor- 
able to say of him, Domitian was undoubtedly anxious to do 
his best for the empire. In the provinces he would seem to 
have succeeded, for throughout his life he was the darling 
of the provincial armies and residents. In his endeavor to 
reform the moral tone of the city, however, he failed ; the 
task which he undertook was too great even for so strong a 
man as his father. In his disappointment and rage, Domi- 
tian revived the machinery of oppression, and restored the 
delations and illegal arrests which had marked the worst days 
of the reign of Tiberius. In the end, he died a violent death, 
murdered by his own servants at the command of his faithless 
wife. 

The reign of Domitian, though it lasted for fifteen years, 
was but an interlude ; immediately upon his death, the era of 

434. First good feeling which his father had inaugurated began 

of "Five asrain. Domitian left no heirs, and the army for the 
Good Em- . , 

perors" moment had no candidate to offer; consequently the 

(96-98 A.D.) Senate, which for a good century had not chosen an 

emperor, once more exercised its constitutional function. 

Although they selected Nerva, a man already sixty-live years 

old, the choice was wise, for it tended at once to reconcile all 

classes of society. From the day of the accessioi;i of Nerva, 

even the most zealous patriots who dreamed of the days of 

the republic as the period of the greatest glory of Rome, were 

reconciled to the change. Tacitus, the historian, who looked 

J, . upon all the earlier emperors as the enemies of liberty, 

Agricola, allows that ''the emperor Nerva, in the beginning of this 

glorious era, found means to reconcile two things up 



THE GOLDEN AGE 423 

to this time thoiiglit incompatible ; namely, civil liberty and 
the power of a prince." 

Beyond this reconciliation, the reign of Nerva is devoid of 
incident; the old man lived jnst long enough to designate a 
worthy successor, Trajau, who had been in high command 435 Traian 
for some years along the German frontier. Trajan sue- first provin- 

cidjl 6111- 

ceeded to the imperial title in 98 a.d. He is the first peror(98- 
emperor descended from a family which owed its origin ^^'^ ^■^•) 
to a country beyond the peninsula of Italy, and his accession 
is therefore significant as a sign that Rome, Italy, and the 
provinces were rapidly becoming one. A century before, who 
would have thought of selecting an emperor outside the great 
Roman families ? A Spaniard now became emperor, and no 
man raised his voice to question the validity of the succession. 

Trajan was, above all things, a great military commander. 
At the time of Nerva's death, he was with his legions on the 
borders of Germany ; and for a year longer he remained ^gg Wars 
in camp, perfecting the organization of the army and pro- and con- 
viding for the defense of the frontier. In 99 a.d. he ^^^^ ^ 

finally came to Rome and assumed the purple robes of office. 
For two years he remained in Rome, superintending the ad- 
ministration of his government, and then he took the field once 
more; this time against the Dacians, the tribes beyond the 
Danube, who had defied the power of the Roman arms in the 
time of Domitian. For five years or more Trajan carried on a 
vigorous war and did not rest till he had completely subdued 
the Dacians and added their lands to the Roman dominions. 

Still he was not content; year after year he poured Roman 
colonists, builders, and artisans of every sort into the country ; 
bridges, roads, and fortresses, towns, temples, and baths, grew 
up on every side, so that within one generation the land was 
transformed into a completely Romanized province. Thence- 
forth Dacia, a land more than a thousand miles in circumfer- 
ence, lay as a barrier against the rapidly advancing German 



424 



THE KOMAN EMPIRE 



hordes ; and the province which Trajan had created stood 
for a century and a half as a buffer against the northern 
barbarians. 

Trajan now rested for seven years ; but in 114 a.d. he took 
up arms once more and marched against the Parthians, those 
ancient enemies of the Komans on the eastern frontier. 
Again his campaigns were successful, and within a year or 




Remains of Trajan's Forum, and his Column. 
On the column are reliefs illustrating events in Trajan's life. 

two he had conquered his foes and extended his empire into 
Armenia and Mesopotamia. In 116 a.d. he even followed the 
Tigris and Euphrates down to the Persian Gulf. But he was 
forced to retrace his steps immediately, for the Parthians in his 
rear were in revolt. One year more he devoted to fighting, and 
then he died in the«^Drovince of Cilicia, carrying with him to 
the grave the distinction of having ruled over a domain greater 
than that of any other Koman emperor. The power of Rome 



THE GOLDEN AGE 



425 



Avas supreme from Scotland to the African desert; from the 
Atlantic to the country beyond the Tigris. 

In the intervals between his wars, Trajan devoted himself 
assiduously to the administration of his empire. Like all the 
emperors of this era, he was extremely zealous in his care -„„ . 
of Italy and the provinces. Nothing was too trivial for the admin- 
the emperor's notice : questions of water supply, of public 
improvement, of the correction of minor criminal abuses, 



istrator 







SCALE OF MILES 

6 ' 'iOo ' 460 ' G(iO 



Roman Empire in 117 a.d. 



were settled by him personally, as though they were matters 
of the greatest public importance. All this we knoAv from the 
official correspondence of the Younger Pliny, Trajan's legate 
in the province of Bithynia. The great labor of answering 
all these letters brought no complaint from the emperor ; public 
administration was his duty, and he never failed in his obliga- 
tion to the people. 

Trajan died in Cilicia, far from the city of Rome; yet 



WOLF. AXr. HIST. 



26 



426 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

Hadrian, whom he had chosen as his successor, ascended the 

throne without any appreciable opposition. The new emperor 

438. Ha- was altogether fitted for the office : in early youth he 

dnanthe j^^fj ^ggj^ carefully educated, in his early manhood he 

traveler '^ ' '^ 

(117-138 had been carefully trained in the ai'my, and now he set 

■ '^ about to care for the empire as no man before him had 

done. He saw at once that the conquests which Trajan had 
made in the east could do the empire no good, and without 
hesitation he abandoned to the barbarians the lands beyond 
the Euphrates. Next he set himself the task of finding out by 
personal observation the exact condition of every part of his 
empire. Year after year, he traveled from one province to 
another, till hardly a section of the empire had been left 
unvisited. 

The capital saw Hadrian but little in the first years of his 
reign, and the city was none too pleased with this emperor who 
showed his face so seldom in Eome. Yet his travels bore 
excellent fruit, for peace and prosperity marked the twenty- 
one years of his rule; and in his day the old distinction 
between Rome and the provinces almost entirely disappeared. 
At last, after more than a century and a half, the ideal of 
Caesar was attained ; the Roman world was one, and the city of 
Rome receded to a position where it was no longer mistress 
of the world, but merely tlie capital of a vast empire. 

Thus at last the Roman world ceased to exist for the 

exclusive benefit of the imperial city; thus at last the empire 

was administered for the good of every race and community 

within its wide extent ; peace and contentment were the result 

of the civilization which had been in creation since the 

,. . , dawn of history. "On the whole," says Merivale, "I 

History, am disposed to regard the reign of Hadrian as the best 

of the imperial series, marked by endeavors at reform 

and improvement in every department of administration and 

in all q^^arters of the empire. . . . His defects and vices were 



THE GOLDEN AGE 



427 



those of his time, and he was indeed altogether the fullest 
representative of his time, the complete and crowning product, 




Tomb of Hadrian, Rome. 
Now called the castle of St. Augelo ; bridge over the Tiber in the foreground. 

as far as we can judge, of the crowning age of Koman civiliza- 
tion." 

Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian and ruled for 
twenty-three years, carried forward the noble work which 
Hadrian had begun. " History has dealt kindly with 439. j^^^^q 
the good old man, for it has left his faults fall quietly 
into the shade, till they have passed away from memory 
and we know him only as the unselfish ruler, wdio was 
rich at his accession, but told his wife that when he took 
the empire he must give up all else besides. . . . No 
great deeds are told of him, save this, perhaps the greatest, 
that he secured the love and happiness of those he ruled." 



ninus Pius 

(138-161 

A.D.) 

Capes, A(/e 
of the 

Antonines, 
ch. iv. 



428 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

When he passed away, in 161 a.d., the empire had enjoyed 
an era of over half a century of peace and prosperity, unbroken 
save by petty wars along the frontier ; such an era the ancient 
world was never to see again. Succeeding ages have immor- 
talized his reign by telling of nothing but the glory of the 
empire ; yet, after all, it was already on the eve of a long and 
unbroken struggle with barbarian hosts which were slowly 
making their way down froui the forests and marshes of Ger- 
many. 

Antoninus Pius was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, the last of 

the " Five Good Emperors." Though he was a man in every way 

440. Begin- the equal of his predecessors, his reign' was full of trouble 

ning of from bet'inninCT to end. Scarcely had he ascended the 

decline & & J 

(161-180 throne when the wars along the border, which had never 

^•■^■^ really ceased, broke out in all their fury. Along the east- 

ern frontier, the Parthians once more took the offensive, and 
were forced into submission only after a serious war. In the 
north, along the upper Danube, the German tribes known as 
the Marcomanni were also threatening ; and the legions which 
had just returned from the east brought with them a devastat- 
ing plague which decimated the population of Italy and the 
west. 

To crown the troubles of the time, Lucius Verus, whom 
Marcus Aurelius had associated with himself as emperor, 
proved to be an utterly incompetent and vicious man. Fortu- 
nately for the empire, Verus soon died and left the administra- 
tion to Aurelius alone; nevertheless, the trouble with the 
Marcomanni continued to grow till the emperor himself was 
forced to take the field, and thenceforth his life was spent 
almost entirely in the camp. Year after year he marched 
forth against the barbarians. In 180 a.d. he died in camp on 
the site of the modern city of Vienna, and with him passed 
away the period of the greatest glory of the Roman empire. 



THE GOLDEN AGE 429 

The century from the accession of Vespasian to the death of 
Marcus Aurelius is a century of the greatest prosperity in all 
antiquity. Men were at last content to live under the 441. Sum- 
imperial government without opposing its head. Even in ^^^^ 
the reign of Domitian the provinces prospered, though dis- 
content was rife in the city ; and from the death of Domitian 
to the death of Antoninus Pius, all was peace and contentment 
within the empire. Though Trajan carried the Koman arms 
into lands far removed from the center of the empire, his 
wars resulted in nothing but good ; and when he died, there 
began an era of peace such as the ancient world had never 
known before. The reign of Marcus Aurelius marks a transi- 
tion to other times; though a man of the same type as Hadrian 
and Antoninus Pius, he was forced by the growing pressure of 
the German tribes to spend most of his days in the field. If 
his reign was less prosperous than those of his predecessors, it 
was not because of any lack in himself, but because disintegra- 
ting forces were already at work within the empire. 

TOPICS 

(1) How had Gaul been brought under the control of Rome ? Suggestive 
(2) How was Judea acquired by the Romans? (3) With what topics 
former emperor can you compare Vespasian ? Why ? (4) How 
was Britain brought under the control of Rome ? (5) Wliy was 
civil liberty an impossibility under the early empire ? (6) AVhy 
are the '• Five Good Emperors " so called ? (7) Under what em- 
peror did the Roman empire reach its greatest extent ? (8) What 
kind of provincial government was given to conquered lands 
during the early empire ? (9) Can you assign any reason why 
emperors such as Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian were so solicitous 
in regard to the welfare of the provinces ? (10) Compare their at- 
titude in this regard with that of the republic. (11) What are the 
writings of Marcus Aurelius ? 

(12) The praetorian guard. (1.3) The Roman army in the Search 
field. (14) The siege of Jerusalem. (15) The Coliseum. (16) *°P'^^ 
Destruction of Pompeii. (17) Monuments to Trajan. (18) Ha- 
drian's travels. (19) A province in Hadrian's time. (20) Destruc- 
tion of Pompeii. (21) Present condition of Pompeii. 



430 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



Geography 

Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 396, 397. 

Bury, Student's Boman Empire, chs. xx.-xxxi. ; Merivale, His- 
tory of the Bomans under the Empire (VI. VII.), chs. Ivii.-lxviii. ; 
Arnold, Boman Provincial Administration, pp. 138 ff.; Monimsen, 
Provinces of the Boman Empire, especially chs. iv.-vi. ix. xi. ; All- 
croft and Haydon, Early Principate, chs. xvi.-xx. ; Capes, Age of 
the Antonines, — Early Empire, chs. ix.-xix.; Gregorovius, Emperor 
Hadrian ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Boman Empire, chs. i.- 
iii. ; Pelham, Outlines of Boman History, bk. vi. ch. 1. ; Taylor, 
Constitutional and Political History of Borne, pp. 485-490 ; Duruy, 
History of Bome, V. chs. Ixxvii.-lxxxi. ; Dyer, City of Bome, 
pp. 237-262 ; Lanciani, Ancient Bome in the Light of Becent Dis- 
coveries ; Crawford, Ave Roma Immortalis ; Man, Pompeii, its Life 
and Art ; F. F. Abbott, Boman Political Institutiotis, chs. xiv. xv. 

See New England History Teachers' Association, Historical 
Sources in Schools, § 25 ; Tacitus, Agricola, — Histories, bks. iv. v. ; 
Augustan History (lives of the emperors beginning with Hadrian, 
by several hands) ; Pliny, Letters (extracts from, by Fling, in vol- 
ume I. of Studies in European Histonj) ; Josephus, Wars of 
the Jews ; Suetonius, Lives, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian ; Marcus 
Aurelius, Meditations ; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, bk. iii. 
chs. v.~xxxix., bk. Iv., bk. v. chs. i.-viii. ; Eutropius, bk. vii. chs. 
xix.-xxiii., bk. viii. chs. i.-xiv. 

Ballydear and Bowden, Valeria ; Mrs. Bright, The Three Ber- 
nices ; Bulwer, Last Days of Pompeii ; Mrs. E. Charles, Lapsed, 
not Lost, — The Victory of the Vanquished ; A. J. Church, To the 
Lions ; G. S. Davies, Gaudentius ; J. de Mille, Helena's House- 
hold ; G. Ebers, The Emperor ; E. Eckstein, Quintus Claudius ; 
Fessler, Mark Aurel ; J. W. Graham, Necera ; T. Gray, Vestal ; 
G. A. Henty, For the Temple ; E. Hoven, Neither Bome nor 
Judaea ; L. Kip, ^none ; Mrs. Knevels, Marcella ; J. G. Lock- 
hart, Valerius ; Mrs. J. B. Peploe, Naomi ; Pichler, Agathocles ; 
A. Quinton, Aurelia ; Whyte-Melville, The Gladiators. 



CHAPTER XXXIY. 

ROMAN LIFE AND LITERATURE IN IMPERIAL TIMES 

Roman history and Roman civilization in imperial times pre 

sent a double aspect : the life of Rome itself, and the parallel 

but different life of the provinces. The city abounded in 442. Double 

evidences of a rapidly decayinor civilization, and but for aspect of 

^ -^ ^' ^ ' Roman 

the constant influx of new blood from the provinces, the civilization 




Imperial Rome. 

See also map, p. 443. 1, Column of Antoninus Pius; 2, Column of Marcus 
Aurelius; 3, Column of Trajan; 4, Arch of Septimius Severus; 5, Temple 
of Jupiter Capitolinus; 6, Arch of Titus; 7, Arch of Coustantine. 

431 



432 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

greatness of imperial Eome would have speedily ended. In 
the provinces, on the other hand, the two or three centuries 
after the death of Csesar were years of the greatest pros- 
perity, and generation after generation lived to bless the 
conquerors who had brought peace and contentment to their 
doors. 

First among all the citizens of Rome was the emperor, who 

enjoyed honors and privileges above all other members of 

s^^^i^^y- Still, the position of the emperor was differ- 

of society ent from that of most ancient or modern sovereigns, 

mRome inasmuch as there never existed in Eome a royal family. 

Only rarely did the imperial title descend from father to son, 

and consequently there never grew up a system of court 

etiquette and court privilege such as centers about the person 

of most kings. 

Technically, the emperor was only the first among that 
. class of nobles whose badge of honor was their eligibility 
to a seat in the Senate, This class continued to retain the 
privilege of office holding long after office holding ceased 
to carry with it any power. In the days of Augustus, these 
nobles still counted among their number a few really ancient 
families ; but a century later, in the time of Vespasian and 
Titus, it was difficult to find men who could trace their 
ancestry back to those who had taken an active x^art in the 
affairs of the republic. 

The next rank of society was the knights, a class which 
had ceased absolutely to have any privileges except those 
which riches could buy. Below them in order came the 
freemen, the freedmen, and the slaves. The last two classes 
certainly formed more than half of the entire population of 
Italy. In the centuries of war which Eome waged, vast 
hordes of slaves poured into the capital, and to them were 
intrusted every sort of intellectual and manual labor. They 
were the teachers and doctors, they were the accountants and 



LIFE AND LTTERATURE 



433 



clerks, they were the househohi servants and the held labor- 
ers; till nothing remained for the freeman to do but to live 
upon the bounty of the state, or to join the ranks of the 
clients who attended upon the rich for the pittance of bread 
and wdne which they could thus obtain. Thousands of the 
slaves were liberated every year, but an ever new horde poured 
into the capital to take the place of the freedmen thus created, 
and down to the latest imperial times the proportion of bond- 
men seems not to have diminished. 

Though many citizens still lived a pure and decent life, and 
continued to uphold the traditions of the race, the average 
Roman noble devoted his days and nights to the pursuit 444. Daily 

of pleasures, often of the lowest form. His houses, of ^^^® ^^^ 
^ ' amuse- 

which he often had one or more in the city and several ments 

in the country, were richly adorned 5 his clothing and his 
turniture were the most expensive that money could buy, and 




A Roman Meal. 
From a Pompeiian fresco. 



his table was heaped with exotic food. The early morning 
hours he devoted to receiving his friends and his clients ; later 
he w^ent to the Forum., either to transact his business or to 
meet his friends. After his noonday meal he rested for an 
hour or two, and then went to the Campus Martins, the 
ancient exercising grounds of the Romans, where he devoted 
an hour or more to athletic, sports. Next followed the daily 



434 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

bath, which scarcely a Roman of the higher classes omitted; 
and then came the all-important function of the day, the 
evening meal, where host and guests lay upon their couches 
and feasted and drank till far into the night. 

Since the slaves did most of the work, the daily life of the 
city freemen must have been one of idleness ; two things only 
they demanded of the state: plenty to eat and frequent 
nem et cir- opportunity to enjoy themselves. Throughout imperial 
censes times, the one great cry of the lower classes is said to 

have been ^' Pcmem et circenses^' (bread and the games of the 
circus). To satisfy the clamor for support, the African prov- 
inces were largely devoted to the cultivation of grain; and 
swift-sailing corn ships and high-paid officials were constantly 
maintained by the emperors. In order that the people might 
never be without their amusements, more than half the days 
of the year were ultimately devoted to festivals and games. 
These festivals were of three kinds : theatrical shows, gladiato- 
rial contests in the amphitheater, and chariot races in the 
circuses. The theaters, though elaljorately constructed to 
accommodate thousands of people, were rarely devoted to the 
production of real dramas ; once in a while a comedy might be 
produced, but in most cases the people demanded pantomimes, 
feats of magic, and acrobatic shows, mpch like our modern 
vaudeville. In the amphitheaters were presented those glad- 
iatorial shows which have always appeared to the modern world 
as one of the most striking features of Roman civilization. 
In course of time, the amphitheaters grew larger and larger, 
and the shows more and more elaborate, till hundreds of 
victims perished in a single day. The passion for the circus 
was of a later growth; but as the empire grew old, so the 
historians assure us, the people were willing to spend day 
after day watching the charioteers run their horses round 
and round the endless course. 

Ease, irresponsibility, and luxury tended to deprave the 




435 



436 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

social and moral tone of the capital. While the provincial 
cities copied the vices of Rome, the rural population of tlie 

provinces was hai:)py and vigorous. The primary reason 

446. Pros- ^ ^ ^ -^ * . 1 J 
perity in for this vitality is that in their instincts for government 
provinces ^^^^^ |.^^^,^ ^j^^ Romans retained many of the virtues of 

an earlier age. The forms of administration had changed for 
the better; Roman organization became more and more effect- 
ive ; so that while the capital sank deeper and deeper into the 
mire of social decay, the provinces steadily improved, and, in 
the end, came to contribute almost all the vitality which the 
Mommsen, empire still possessed. Thus, says Mommsen, "it is in 

Oman ^j agricultural towns of Africa, in the homes of the 

Provinces, » ' 

/. Intvod. vine dressers of the Moselle, in the flourishing townships 
of the Lycian mountains, and on the margin of the Syrian 
desert that the w^ork of the imperial period is to be sought 
and found." 

Another reason for the prosperity of the provinces was the 
state of universal peace which the generals of the empire had 

>.>.« m J brought about. Except along the borders, wars no longer 

447. Trade ^ i & ? & 

and trade distracted the people, and the traveler and the tradesman 
rou es might traverse the entire empire without fear of molesta- 

tion. Every emperor from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius de- 
voted his energies and his revenues to the construction of 
roads and the protection of the passage of the seas ; till the 
merchant might journey from Britain to Arabia in perfect 
, safety. " Is not every one free to go in peace whither 

Antoninus he wills ? " exclaims the panegyrist Aristides. " Is not 
"^'^ every port alive with commerce ? Are not the mountain 

passes as safe for the traveler as the town for those who stay 
at home ? . , . Is there a river that may not be crossed, an 
ocean way that is closed ? " 

As the result of peace and freedom of trade, from every 
corner of the empire the products of the world flowed toward 
the capital. From Spain, from Gaul, and from Britain were 



LIFE AND LITERATURE 



437 



collected the products of the mines, the farms, and the vine- 
yards ; from Greece, from Asia Minor, and from the east came 
the products of the loom and the factory ; and the whole Roman 
world prospered in the exchange of goods. C'ommercially the 
world was one as never before ; and never again till compara- 



'6 






;W^.; 




Roman Aqueduct at Nimes, France. 



tively modern times did the trader go so far afield in search 
of goods. In consequence, nearly every class in the provinces 
prospered, and only at rare intervals do we hear the mutterings 
of discontent. Everywhere magnificent buildings and exten- 
sive public works attest the glory of the empire ; and nowhere 
was there any thought of breaking away from the dominion of 
Eome, 

In the commerce of the empire, all provinces prospered 
equally ; but socially, the east was worse off than the west, 443 ^^^^ 
for there thousands of years of Asiatic civilization had 
brought luxury and unspeakable vice. In the provinces 
of the w^est — Africa, Spain, Gaul, and Britain — there 
seems to have been everywhere a large measure of purity and 



inces of the 
east and 
west con- 
trasted 



438 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



happiness; and when, two centuries after the death of Marcus 
Aurelius, the empire finally went to pieces, it left there a heri- 
tage of respect for law 
and order of which we 
to-day are enjoying the 
fruits. 

In the two centuries 
after the death of Julius 
Caesar, the civilization of 
the ancient world ceased 
to be national and became 
cosmopolitan, the union 
of the best that Rome and 




Roman Arch, Lincoln, England. 



Greece had to offer. From Greece, the world got its intel- 
lectual and artistic ideals; from Eome, its ideas of political 
organization and law. Throughout the empire only two 
languages were spoken to any extent. In the east, Greek 
still continued to be the language of all social intercourse, 
while Latin was heard chiefly in the palace of the governors 
and in the barracks of the troops ; in the west, local dialects 
were abandoned, and Latin alone became the language of every- 
day life. 

In its effect upon mankind, the literary life of Rome is 
hardly less important than its social life and government. 
449. Prose Greatest among the prose writers of the last days of the 
the^^Se I'epublic was Cicero, whose works may be divided into 
republic three classes : first, his orations ; second, his political, 
ethical, and educational treatises; and third, his correspond- 
ence. Though most critics are agreed that Cicero was not the 
greatest public speaker that Rome produced, the. works of his 
predecessors are almost entirely lost, and therefore his ora- 
tions must still stand as the best type of Roman oratory. 
The many treatises which Cicero wrote, many of which are 
famous, are full of the intellectual spirit of his times and add 



LIFE AND LITERATURE 439 

considerably to our understanding of the life of the people. 
His correspondence, valuable as an example of Latin style, is 
also priceless as a storehouse of historical information for the 
last days of the republic. For their spirit and for their form, 
the works of Cicero deserve a high place in the world's litera- 
ture; but their chief importance lies in the fact that they 
fixed a model for all future writers of Latin prose, a standard 
which no man ever excelled. 

Next to Cicero, the most famous prose writer of the times 
was Caesar. The Commentaries on the Gallic War, our chief 
source for the history of the conquest of Gaul, is a model of 
what an account of a military campaign should be ; simple 
and straightforward in style, it tells its story so well that 
no historian of later times has been able to improve upon it. 
Caesar also began a Commentary on the Civil War, but this work 
he never finished. 

Third among the prose writers is Sallust, a friend and com- 
panion of Caesar. The greatest of his works was a history of 
Rome, which has been almost completely lost. Besides the 
history, Sallust wrote two shorter treatises : one upon the 
Jugurthan war, the other upon the conspiracy of Catiline. 
Both are interesting accounts of the events which they narrate, 
and both are valuable as sources of Roman history. 

Two poets of this same age are of superior merit : Lucretius 
and Catullus. Lucretius wrote but one poem now extant, 
entitled Of the Nature of Things : an attempt to account 
for the existence of the world. The author's purpose of the late 
seems to have been to write a didactic account of the "^^ 
origin and constitution of the universe ; but, in spite of him- 
self, he filled his poem with glowing pictures of men and the 
world, as he saw them with a poet's eyes. 

Catullus was a lyric poet pure and simple. His poems are 
full of the fire and emotion of youth ; and though they 
do not show the genius of the great lyric poets of Greece, 



440 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



they are to be classed among the best of the world's litera- 
ture. 

In the age of Augustus, there appears but one prose writer 
of the first rank, the historian Livy. His history of E,ome, 

,. , in which he told the story of the city from its founda- 
451. Livy's '^ "^ 

Roman tion to the time of Augustus, has been preserved only 

history -^^ ^^^ large fragments. It is pervaded with an intense 

patriotism, and is full of the glory of Kome. At times Livy 

is too credulous ; nevertheless, the history is an admirable 




Virgil, Horace, and M^cenas. 
Painting by Jalabert. 

account of the fortunes of the republic, and the world has 
never ceased to mourn the fact that it was not preserved 
complete. 

What Livy did in prose, Virgil did in poetry. The ^^neid 
is one long glorification of the Trojan ^neas, traditional 



LIFE AND LITERATURE 441 

founder of the Latin race. In form, the poem is very like 

the Iliad and Odyssefj of Homer; in spirit, it is entirely 

different, for while the Greek poems are based upon 452. Poets 

earlier ballads, the ^^neid is a conscious effort to tell a . of the 
' Augustan 

sustained story, and is pervaded with the purpose of glori- age 

fying Kome. Besides the ^:Eneid, Virgil wrote a number of 
shorter poems of less merit, known as the Georgics and the 
Eclogues. 

Contemporary with Virgil was the poet Horace, the best 
known and most mellow of all the Latin poets. His poems are 
of three kinds : odes, satires, and epistles. Horace was the 
apostle of the new era which began with the battle of Actium ; 
above all else he advocated acquiescence in the new order of 
things. His motto was. Live happily, and leave the cares of 
state to the ministers of the emperor. Though no such title 
existed, Horace may appropriately be called the poet laureate 
of Augustus. 

A third poet of the period was Ovid, the poet of the prof- 
ligate society which centered about Julia, the daughter of 
Augustus. He wrote much, but nothing with any serious pur- 
pose. In the end, he was banished from Eome and spent his 
last days in Pontus, bewailing the hard fate which had re- 
moved him so far from the scene of his former gayeties. 

From the death of Augustus to the reign of Trajan, the 
annals of Roman literature are barren. In the time of Tibe- 
rius,, Velleius Paterculus wrote a history of Rome; and 453.Litera- 
in the time of Xero, Seneca, the philosopher, produced ^^ueustS 
books on science and philosophy. Neither author is to Trajan 
remarkable for style ; and their works have so little merit 
that in other times they would scarcely receive a passing 
mention. Toward the end of the period, in the reign of 
Vespasian and Titus, the Elder Pliny lived, and wrote his 
Natural History, a book which attempted to cover the whole 
field of human knowledge. The book is rambling and 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. — 27 



442 THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

tedious, but it is interesting as a source from which we can 

draw a conception of the intellectual conditions of the time. 

Next to Livy, the greatest historian of Rome was Tacitus. 

In all, Tacitus wrote four great works : a Biography of 

Agricola, the Conqueror of Britain; a treatise On the 

454. i3/Cl- 

tus, the Manners and Customs of the Germans; the Annals, 

historian ^hich deal with imperial history to the death of Nero ; 
and the Histories, which carries the story down to the reign 
of Trajan. A master of Latin style, and a model of terseness 
and force, Tacitus is still open to serious criticism as an his- 
torian, for all his works are colored by his prejudices against 
the earlier empire and his discontent with the social conditions 
of Rome. 

Besides Tacitus, the second century produced two prose 
writers of lesser merit : the Younger Pliny and Suetonius. 

The first, famous as the legate of Trajan in Bithynia, has 

455. Pliny ' ^ i r • . 
and Sue- leit US an extensive correspondence, abounding in inter- 

tomus esting information about the social life of his time; 

the second is famous for his Lives of the Tivelve Ccesars, a 

work almost entirely devoid of literary merit, but full of 

personal anecdotes about the lives of the first emperors, and 

interesting because it gives us an opportunity to study the 

daily life of the imperial court. 

The second century produced but one great poet, Juvenal, 

whose title to fame lies in his Satires: bitter attacks upon 

45G Th Roman society as he saw it about him. Though the 

satirist provinces were undoubtedly happy in the time of the An- 

uvena tonines, Rome was full of evil things ; and the works of 

Juvenal are replete with fire and sarcasm, with the bitterness 

of a man who viewed a rapidly decaying civilization without 

being able to perceive any hope for the future regeneration of 

the world. Though exaggerated and overdrawn, the Satires 

are an appeal to a higher standard no longer observed in 

Rome. 



LIFE AND LITERATURE 



443 



Roman law 



The Roman law, too, reached its highest development in 

imperial times, although almost from the foundation of the 

city the Eomans had been famous for their learal sys- ^„„ „ 

•^ '^ J 457 Great- 

tern. In the days of the republic, especially after the ness of 

codification of the Twelve Tables, the law had been more 
and more developed ; tirst by the enactments of the Senate 
and the assemblies, and second by the edicts of the praetors, 
the judges of ancient 
Rome. In the time of 
the empire, the body 
of the law had grown 
still greater through 
the decrees of the em- 
perors, till it became 
by far the greatest and 
most perfect system of 
ancient times. 

Aside from the re- 
cognition of slavery 
which was ingrained 
in the system, Roman 
law was a law of equal- 
ity, of fixed and fair 

tribunals, of sane and consistent principles ; still, it was 
complicated and therefore needed constant interpretation ; and 
to fulfill this need, there arose in the state a body of trained 
students who devoted their energies to the elucidation of the 
disputes which arose over the interpretation of the law. 
These men, the Jurists, as they are called, flourished espe- 
cially in the time of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, and some 
of their legal treatises are still regarded as classics of the law. 
Later on, all this vast body of law was carefully codified ; but 
in the second century of the empire it had developed to a point 
which no system, ancient or modern, has ever surpassed. 




Forums of Rome. 
Where the courts were held. 




iU 



LIFE AND LITERATURE 445 

The chief glory of the Roman empire lay in what it did for 
the provinces ; for within the city evidences of decay were to 
be seen in all ranks of society. Though no longer the 453. sum- 
mistress of the world, the city was still the center of mary 

fashion and of social and intellectual life. In the upper walks 
of life, extremes of . luxury were to be observed ; in the lower 
classes, the vicious system of slavery and its adjuncts, free 
grain and free entertainment, destroyed the independence of the 
freemen ; till scarcely one free resident of Rome in a thousand 
entirely supported himself and his family. In the provinces, 
however, conditions were different : here the universal peace, 
the perfect organization established by the emperors, and the 
still more perfect system of law, gave the people an oppor- 
tunity for marvelous commercial development ; and in the train 
of commerce came prosperity and contentment beyond anything 
that the ancient world had ever known, so that by the time of 
Antoninus Pius, in the whole empire all distinctions between 
Roman and provincial were practically lost. This is the real 
glory of the Roman empire. 

Roman literature of the first two centuries of the empire 
may be divided into three epochs. In the first, or Golden 
Age, which includes the years from the formation of the first 
triumvirate (60 b.c.) to the death of Augustus (J 4 a.d.), lived 
Cicero, Caesar, Sallust, and Livy, the prose writers ; and Lu- 
cretius, Catullus, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, the poets. The 
second epoch, from the death of Augustus to the accession of 
Trajan (98 a.d.), is marked by no really great names. The 
third, known as the Silver Age of Roman literature, produced 
the historian Tacitus, the letter writer Pliny, the biographer 
Suetonius, and the poet Juvenal, the greatest satirist of the 
Roman empire. In the third epoch, too, the Roman law 
reached the zenith of its glory. After the death of Hadrian 
(138 A.D.), the Romans produced hardly anything that can be 
included in the world's best literature. 



446 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



TOPICS 

(1) If the empire was not hereditary, who determined who 
should be emperor ? (2) What otficer of Rome furnished the 
bread and the games for the people ? (3) Why were the provinces 
so prosperous while Italy was not ? (4) Compare Livy and Tacitus 
as historians. To which historians of Greece would you compare 
them ? Give your reasons. (5) Do the works of Juvenal give 
us an accurate picture of Roman society ? Give your reasons. 
(6) Who were the first men to attempt a codification of Roman 
law ? (7) Who enacted laws in imperial Rome ? (8) How many 
kinds of praetors were there and who appointed them ? 

(9) Virgil's opinion of Rome. (10) Horace's opinion of Rome, 
Description of a temple in Rome. (11) Statues in Rome. 
(12) Aqueducts of Rome. (13) Streets of Rome. (14) The 
Palatine. (15) The circuses. (16) Roman roads. 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



REFERENCES 

Duruy, History of Rome (IV. V.), chs. Ixx. Ixxxii.-lxxxvii. ; 
Church, Boman Life in the Days of Cicero ; Guhl and Koner, Life 
of the Greeks and Bomans ; Inge, Society in Borne under the 
Ccesars ; Thomas, Boman Life under the Ccesavs ; Pellison, Boman 
Life in Pliny's Time ; Preston and Dodge, Private Life of the 
Bomans ; Mau, Pompeii, its Life and Art ; Lanciani, Ancient 
Borne, -^Destruction of Ancient Borne ; Crawford, Ave Boma Im- 
mortalis; Mackail, Latin Literature, pt. i. ch. vii., pt. ii., pt. iii. 
chs. i.-v. ; Simcox, Latin Literature (I. II.), pts. iii.-vii. ; Mommsen, 
Provinces of the Boman Empire (see Index) ; Uhlhorn, Conflict of 
Christianity with Heathenism, bk. i. chs. i. ii. 

Besides the sources given in chapters xxxi.-xxxiii. of this book, 
the works of the orators Aristides and Quintilian, and of the poets 
and satirists Horace, Juvenal, Ovid, Persius, Petronius, and Virgil 
are valuable for manners and customs. 

See chapters xxxii. and xxxiii. of this book. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



CHRLSTIANITY IN THE EMPIRE 



Ix the last years of the second century a.d. the distinctively 
ancient world was fast coming to an end. The history of the 
succeeding centuries is the history of the gradual transition 
from ancient to mediaival civilization. In this fundamental 
change two great forces were at Avork : Christianity, which 
made its way into the empire from the east; and the Ger- 
manic race, which crossed the borders and overspread the 
empire from the north. 

The decline of the empire began to show itself in the reign 
of Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, a man utterly weak 

and incapable, who 459 ^ 




allowed the empire to 



cen- 
tury of 
, , . anarchy 

go to rack and rum (180-284 

AD.) 



while he enjoyed him- 
self in bestial pleasures. 
Upon his death, the impe- 
rial crown became the play- 
thing of the commanders 
of the armies ; one after an- 
other, they were set up by 
their legions ; one after 
another, they were nmr- 
dered or defeated in battle 
by their rivals. One or 
two notable emperors there 
were, especially Septimius Severus (193-211 a.d.) and Aurelian 
(270-275), who defeated Zenobia, the famous queen of Palmyra, 

447 



Arch of Septimius Severus, Rome. 



448 THE TRANSITION 

and put down the threatened revolt in the east. Taken 
altogether, the period from the death of Marcus Aurelius 
(180 A.D.) to the accession of Diocletian (1*84 a.d.) was one 
of anarchy, in which the unity of the empire was maintained 
only because it had been so admirably organized by its builders 
from Julius Caesar to Marcus Aurelius. 

About the time when the Roman government passed into the 
hands of one man, there arose among the people of Judea a great 
460. Begin- teacher and preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, whom many of 
nings of the Jews in time came to recognize as the Messiah or 
Christ for whom the race had long been waiting. The 
story of the life and death of Jesus, the founder of the 
Christian Church, involves the whole subject of Christian doc- 
trine, which is outside the scope of this book. In its relations 
with the Roman empire, the notable fact is that soon after the 
death of Jesus, his disciples, under the leadership of Peter, 
gathered themselves and set to work spreading among their 
neighbors the gospel of redemption through Christ. 
Acts, xL ^t first, they contented themselves with " preaching the 

^^ word to none save Jews only " ; but a few years after the 

death of Jesus, there arose a new teacher, Paul, a Jew born in 
Tarsus in Cilicia, but a Roman citizen, who believed that, ac- 
cording to the w^ords of Jesus, it was the duty of the apostles 
Matthew, to " go . . . and teach all nations." Till about 50 a.d., 
xxvhi. 19 none of the apostles had journeyed farther than Antioch; 
then Paul found a fruitful field for the spread of the gospel in 
Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, and traveled from city to 
city, proclaiming his belief in the new religion, and calling 
upon Jew and Gentile alike to accept redemption through 
Jesus Christ. 

The other disciples were adverse to the mission of Paul ; 

461 Spread ^^^^ about the year 52 a.d. the disciples came to an 

of Chris- agreement in a council held at Jerusalem, where it was 

decided that Paul and his companions might, if they 



CHRISTIANITY IN THE EMPIRE 449 

chose, carry the gosj^el to the Gentiles; the majority of them 
would still, however, conline their teaching to the Jews. This 
Council of Jerusalem, as it is called, at once decided the fate 
of the new faith ; henceforth it was to become a world religion. 

The Ivoman empire, as it then existed, offered several con- 
ditions which made the propagation of the new religion 
easy. First of all, many Jews were scattered throughout the 
cities from Spain to Syria; and among them Paul found a 
nucleus for the spread of the new doctrine. Next, the Romans 
themselves had long 
since ceased to look 
upon their national re- 
ligion as a vital thing, 
and many of them were 
ready to try the experi- 
ment of any new form 
of worship that might 
appear. Finally, the em- 
pire was so completely 
unified that when once 

the new faith began to take root, it spread rapidly into all 
parts of the Roman dominions. 

Still, we ]nust not be deceived by the later extent of Chris- 
tianity : the preaching of Paul, extending over a period of 
twenty or twenty-five years, and carrying him from Jerusalem 
to Rome, was nothing more than seed by the wayside. At his 
death, the entire body of Christians probably numbered only 
a few thousand, scattered over the entire Roman world, and 
regarded by the average Roman as a sect of the Jews. 

At first the preaching of Paul and his followers was regarded 
by the Romans with indifference ; for they were accustomed to 
allow all forms of worship, so long as they did not inter- ^^^ ^j^^ 
fere with the administration of the state. Indeed, in first perse- 
these early years, the Christians were often actually pro- 



Symbols of the Early Chrlstians. 



450 THE TRANSITION 

tected by the Eoman magistrates against the fury of orthodox 

Jews who looked upon the new doctrine with disfavor. When, 

however, the Romans recognized that the Christians were a 

distinct religious body, there began a series of persecutions 

which lasted in all for nearly two hundred and lifty years. 

The first of these persecutions came in the reign of Nero. 

In 64 A.D. a vast conflagration consumed a considerable part 

of Rome, and a rumor arose among the people that the emperor 

^ ., himself had lighted the flames. " To check this rumor," 

Tacitus, ^ 

Annals, says Tacitus, " those who were called Christians by the 
mob, and hated for their moral enormities, were sub- 
stituted in his place as culprits by Nero, and afflicted with 
the most exquisite punishments." In this persecution, there 
was no religious motive, hardly even a political purpose; the 
attack was purely personal, undertaken because of a supposed 
specific act ; and the Christians might have gone on proselyting 
unmolested, had not the trials developed some new facts, alarm- 
ing to the Romans. 

After the trials began, Tacitus goes on to say, the Christians 
were " convicted not so mucli of the crime of incendiarism as 
of hatred of the human race." This phrase curtly ex- 
Annals, presses the Roman disfavor toward a religion which 
actively assailed the very framework of Roman society. 
The Christians were accused of being a people who exhibited 
a " hatred of the human race " : for it was said that they de- 
spised and decried those things which the Romans held most 
dear; that they advocated the loosening of family ties when 
the members of the family did not all accept Christianity ; 
that they were opposed to the gladiatorial shows and theatrical 
exhibitions which had delighted Roman communities for centu- 
ries ; that they declared the slave was as good as his master ; 
that they refused to share in the burdens and obligations of 
Roman citizenship. As the people of the empire learned of all 
this, they became more and more irritated with the new sect; 



CHRISTIANITY IN THE EMPIRE 451 

and the Christian, wherever found, became an outcast from 

society. 

There are records of a persecution in the time of Domitian 

(81-96 A.D.) also ; nevertheless, not till the time of the emperor 

Trajan does Rome seem to have adopted a definite policy ,„„ „, 

toward the Christians. In 117 a.d. the Younger Pliny persecution 

was appointed governor of Bithynia ; here he found many ° rajan 

Christians, and since he was at a loss how to deal with them, 

he appealed to the emperor. He is anxious to know, he says, 

"whether the very „,. 

•^ Pliny, 

name of Christian, Letters, 

without any wrong- 
doing or the crimes which 
are usually committed in 
the name of Christianity, 
should be the subject of 
punishment." " In the 
meantime," he goes on to 
say, " I have pursued this 

method with those who 
Underground passages and rooms where 
the Christians buried their dead and wor- have been brought before 
shiped in secret. The total length of the ^^^ . j ^^^^ demanded of 
passages is about 550 miles. 

them whether they were 

Christians; if they confessed, I have renewed my inquiry a 
second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; 
if they were inflexible, I have ordered them off to punishment, 
for I was not in the least doubt, whatever their belief might 
be, that their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy ought to be 
punished." 

Pliny's policy was emphatically approved by the emperor. 
" You are not to hunt them out," he says ; " but if they ^^.^^^ 

are brought before you and accused, they should be pun- Letters, 

ished." By this decree the Christians became legally 
outlaws within the empire because they endeavored to with- 




Plan of the Catacombs. 



452 THE TRANSITION 

draw themselves from their obligations as Roman subjects. 
Had they been willing to conform to the practices and customs 
of the empire, they might still have lived unmolested. Their 
offense was not that they believed in other gods than those of 
the Romans, but that they desired to become a distinct politi- 
cal organization within the empire, — a thing which no emperor 
would tolerate. 

The policy which Trajan thus laid down continued till 
250 A.D. to be the official attitude of the state : under Marcus 
Aurelius and some other emperors there were persecutions of 
Christians ; still, no emperor troubled himself very seriously 
to hunt out the believers unless he was forced to it by the 
hatred of the neighbors of the sect. As yet the emperors saw 
little political danger in the growth of the church, and were, 
for the most part, content to allow the Christians to live in 
peace, provided their existence was not brought directly to 
their attention. 

In the year 250 comes evidence that this point of view 

had changed. The Christians had grown in number and 

464. Perse- organization, till the emperor Decius determined to stamp 

cution in out the very faith itself, because he believed it to be a 

the time of . ^ i • 

Decius (250 menace to the existence of his empire. Henceforth, 

^•■^•^ says the edict of Decius, all Christians shall be required 

to conform to the state religion and to abjure entirely their 
heretical belief. Those who refused were to be punished, in 
extreme cases, even with death. A general persecution ex- 
tending from one end of the empire to the other was under- 
taken, and for the next ten years, long after Decius himself 
was dead, no Christian was free from the possibility of feeling 
the weight of the emperor's hand. The effort came too late ; 
though the martyrs were many, though the church suffered 
terribly from this persecution, yet when the i)ersecution ceased 
in 260, Christianity was far from being exterminated, and the 
emperors had to confess that they had failed. 



CHRISTIANITY IN THE EMPIRE 



458 



465. The 
last perse- 
cution 
(303-311 
AD.) 

but 



After the cessation of the persecution in 260, the Christians 
were allowed to live in peace for over forty years, till in the last 
years of Diocletian's reign persecution began again. By 
this time (303 a.d.), Christians had come to be recognized 
in all walks of life : they were in the army as trusted sol- 
diers ; they were in the palace as ministers and servants ; 
they were in the provinces as officers of the government; 
Diocletian had associated with himself as rulers three other men, 

among them Galerius, a 
native of the province of 
Pannonia, who did not 
rest until he had induced 
Diocletian to issue an 
edict of general persecu- 
tion. " In this wild 

Lactantius, 
beast," says Lactan- Persecutors, 

tins, one of the ^^• 

fathers of the church, 
'* there dwelt a native bar- 
barity and savageness 
foreign to the Koman 
blood. ... Of stature 
tall, full of flesh, and 
swollen to a horrible bulk 
of corpulency, by his 
speech, his gestures, and 
his looks, he made himself a terror to all that came near him." 
This time the persecution was frankly carried on with intent 
to uproot the whole church and its adherents. All places of 
worship were to be destroyed ; all sacred writings were to be 
burned; all meetings of Christians were prohibited; and all 
those who professed the faith were to be summarily punished. 
In the east, the persecution was especially severe ; in the 
west, Constantius Chlorus, another associate of the emperor. 




Diocletian. 
Capitoline Museum, Rome. 



454 THE TRANSITION 

was favorably disposed toward the Christians, and did all in 
his power to shield them. All manner of tortures were suf- 
Eusebius, fered by the Christians in the east; "some were slain with 
cal H^sUiri *^^® ^^' some had their bones fractured, some were sus- 
viii. 12 pended by the feet, a little raised above the ground, with 

their heads downward, and thus were suffocated by the ascend- 
ing smoke of gentle fires kindled beneath." 
466. Tri- The Christians bore up bravely, and Galerius was 

U™? . .° .. forced to confess, after he became emperor, that his 
Christianity ^ ^ ' 

assured efforts had been a failure. In the last years of his life 
Easehius, ^ he was obliged to issue an edict which declared "that 
cai History, Christianity may once more be practiced, and the believ- 
viii. 17 ers may build their conventicles on condition that they 

do nothing to break the discipline of the empire." 

Thus, at the beginning of the fourth century, the emperors 
were forced to confess that their efforts to stamp out Christian- 
ity had been in vain ; already the triumph of the faith w^as 
assured. The reason was that the new religion met the 
needs of the time : it offered a simple monotheism in place 
of a debased worship of innumerable gods ; it presented a 
new scheme of life in which the slave and the poor man 
became the equal of the rich ; it substituted charity for brutal- 
ity ; and finally, it brought to men a new and vivid conception 
of a living and all-merciful God. 



The glory of the Roman empire ended in the reign of Marcus 
Aurelius. Thenceforward, Christianity and the Germanic race 
467. Sum- became more and more powerful and ultimately caused 
"^^^y the transition from the ancient to the mediaeval world. 

Christianity, the new world religion, was born among the Jews. 
At first, the disciples conceived of it only as a reformed Juda- 
ism ; but under the leadership of the apostle Paul, it was spread 
till proselytes might be found in every part of the empire from 
Britain to the Black Sea. In the beginning, the Christians 



CHRISTIANITY IN THE EMPIRE 455 

were recognized by the Romans only as a sect of Jews, and 
consequently were not molested. In the reign of Nero, the 
first persecution was undertaken by the emperor to shield him- 
self from the attacks of the Roman populace. The trials of 
the Christians showed the Romans that they were a peculiar 
l)eople, and henceforth all believers became outcasts within 
the empire. In the time of Trajan, the imperial authorities 
for the first time adopted an official policy tow^ard the new 
sect ; from this time on, the mere name of Christian was enough 
to brand a man as an outlaw, and all officers of the state might 
persecute professors of the faith. Still, no one objected to the 
religious beliefs of the Christians ; it was their attitude toward 
the Roman state which was to be punished. In 250 a.d. the 
first systematic attempt to stamp out the faith was under- 
taken, but it was too late. In spite of ten years of persecu- 
tion, the church continued to flourish, and at the end of the 
century was stronger than ever before. Finally, in the begin- 
ning of the fourth century, one last attempt to exterminate 
the Christians was made, but this too failed ; in the end, the 
emperor Galerius was forced to recognize the existence of the 
church, and Christianity was upon the eve of its final triumph 
over the paganism of the ancient world. 

TOPICS 

(1) Paul's life as shown in the Acts of the Apostles. (2) What Suggestive 
was the attitude of the Romans toward religions other than their topics 
own ? Give examples. (3) Enumerate as -many reasons as you 
can why the Roman government persecuted the Christians. 
(4) What is the usual result of persecuting a religious sect ? Why ? 
Cite examples. (5) What were the differences between Christian- 
ity and the old Roman religion ? (6) Would a Roman, not a Chris- 
tian, but acting as the Christians did, have been treated as severely 
as the Christians by the Roman government ? Give your reasons. 
(7) What is the common conception of the so-called Neronian per- 
secution ? 

(8) The earliest accounts of Jesus by other than Scriptural Search 
writers. (9) Paul in Rome. (10) The sacrifices to Roman gods. *°P^*^^ 



456 



THE TRANSITION 



(11) Earliest records of Christians in Home. (12) An early Cliris- 
tian church building. (13) The early Fathers of the Church. 
(14) The conversion of Constantine. (15) The catacombs. 



Geography- 
Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
works 



REFERENCES 

See map, pp. 396, 397. 

Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Boman Empire (abridged by 
Wm. Smith), chs. i.-vi. ; Duruy, History of Borne {Vl. VII.), 
chs. Ixxxviii.-xcviii. ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Boman 
Empire (unabridged), chs. iv.-xiii. xvi. ; Mommsen, Provinces of 
the Boman Empire (see Index) ; Carr, The Church and the Boman 
Empire ; Hardy, Christianity and the Boman Government ; Hatch, 
Organization of Early Christian Churches; Lindsay, Evidence for 
the Papacy^ pp. 1-90 ; Ramsay, The Church in the Boman Empire 
before 170 A.D. ; Allies, Formation of Christendom ; Fisher, Begin- 
nings of Christianity, — History of the Christian Church, periods i. 
ii. ; Milman, History of Christianity, bks. i. ii. ; Brueck, History of 
the Catholic Church, I. pp. 29-11(5; Moeller, History of the Chris- 
tian Church, period i. ; Kurtz, Church History, I. pp. 1-234 ; Alzog, 
Manual of Universal Church History, I. pp. 62-461 ; Uhlhorn, 
Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism, bk. i. ch. iii., bk. ii. 

New Testament, especially Acts ; Pliny, Letters, especially bk. 
X., — Panegyric ; Tacitus, Annals, bk. xv. ; Appuleius, The Golden 
Ass ; Early Christian Persecutions, in "Translations and Reprints 
from Original Sources of European History," vol. IV. no. 1 ; 
Eusebius, bks. i.-viii. ; Lactantius, The Deaths of the Persecutors, 
chs. iv.-ix. 

See chs. xxxii. and xxxili. of this book ; A. D, Crake, uEmilins ; 
W. M, Blackburn, The lliehan Legion ; E. Eckstein, The Chaldcxan 
Magician ; N. C. Kouns, Arius the Libyan, — Dorcas. Daughter 
of Faustina ; J. M. Neale, The Farm of Aptonga ; J. H. Newman, 
Callista ; Mrs. J. B. Peploe, The Martyrs of Carthage ; A. Quinton, 
The Money God ; L. Wallace, Ben Hur ; W. Ware, Zenobia, — 
Aurelian. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE BEGINNING OF 
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS 



In the hundred and four years from the death of Marcus 
Aurelius to the accession of Diocletian, civil war had been so 
constant within the empire, and the attacks by the barba- 433 j.^^ 
rians so fierce, that it seemed as if only a miracle could threatening 
save the now rapidly decaying state, which- indeed was of the 

no longer Roman in anything but name. Rome could empire 

scarcely even be called its capital ; the real seat of power was 
the camp where every emperor spent most of his time. Fur- 
thermore, the people of 
Rome had long since 
lost all active control 
of the government; 
citizenship had been 
conferred upon all the 
people of the empire 
early in the third cen- 
tury, and now every 
freeman from Britain 
to Syria could boast 
the Roman name. 

That name of Roman 
was no longer a badge 

of distinction or power ; on the contrary, it compelled its pos- 
sessor to bear his share of the imperial taxes, which were grow- 
ing heavier and heavier as the years went by. These taxes 
crushed out the trades, absorbed the profits of the merchants 

WOLF. ANC. HIST, — 28 457 




Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter, 
Baalbek, Syria. 



458 THE TRANSITION 

and the produce of the landowners, and finally drew upon the 
accumulated capital of the imperial city, so that it did not pay 
to carry on industry, and good land in many parts of the empire 
lay fallow. The army ceased to be recruited in Rome, or even 
in Italy ; both its officers and its men were largely natives of 
the border provinces ; and since the army chose the emperors, 
the entire policy of the government was dictated by the needs 
of the outlying provinces. 
Gibbon, " The form [of the emjjire] was still the same,'' says 

^**- Gibbon, " but the animating health and vigor were fled. 

The industry of the people was discouraged and exhausted 
by a long series of oppression. The discipline of the 
legions, which alone, after the extinction of every other virtue, 
had propped the greatness of the state, was corrupted by the 
ambition, or relaxed by the weakness, of the emperors. The 
strength of the frontiers . . . was insensibly undermined ; and 
the fairest provinces were left exposed to the rapaciousness of 
the barbarians, who soon discovered the decline of the empire.'' 
It is the merit of Diocletian, the son of an Illyrian peasant, 
that he found a way to arrest this threatening dissolution. 
Coming to the imperial throne in 284, after a long and 
forms of varied career as a soldier, he appreciated that the only 
Diocletian thing which could save the empire was a radical change 
in the entire system of administration. Accordingly, he as- 
sociated Maximian with himself as co-emperor, and divided 
with him the responsibility of the administration. Maximian 
was a good general, but not in the least a statesman ; while he 
aided Diocletian with his advice, the chief burdens of the 
government still rested upon the older colleague. A further 
division of authority was necessary. 

The two Augusti, as Diocletian and Maximian are hence- 
forth called, decided to occupy themselves exclusively with the 
civil administration, and to leave military affairs to two younger 
colleagues, whom they would call Caesars. The two men chosen 



TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY 



459 



for the work were Galerius and Constantius Chlorus, both 
men of long training in the army. Thns the imperial authority 
passed into the hands of four men. The two Augusti took up 
their residence in the central provinces, Diocletian at ISTico- 
media in Bithynia, and Maximian at Milan in Cisalpine Gaul; 
the two Csesars remained with the armies along the border : and 
the empire was again in comparative peace. 

For twenty years the four colleagues ruled the empire and 
reorganized its government; then Diocletian and Maximian 

abdicated, and the two 

Csesars took their place, as 
Diocletian had intended. 
Had not Constantius Chlo- 
rus died within a year or 
two, the scheme of succes- 
sion thus established might 
have continued in effect for 
some time longer ; as it was, 
a civil war resulted, and for 
the next twenty years the 
empire was distracted by 
the contentions of no less 
than six claimants to the 
throne. Out of the turmoil, 
in 324, Const ant ine the 
Great, son of Constantius 
Chlorus, finally emerged as 
sole ruler of the empire. Diocletian's scheme for the succes- 
sion had failed, but from the accession of Constantine peace 
was again established in the empire. 

Once firmly seated on the throne, Constantine set to work 
to complete the reorganization which Diocletian had 470. Con- 
begun. Though he abandoned once for all the scheme !.*^^*^^®i^® 

° ^. Great (324- 

for the subdivision of imperial authority, he adopted 337 A.D.) 




Constantine. 
Church of S. Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. 



460 



THE TRANSITION 



and perfected the plan for the snbdi vision of the administra- 
tion. The empire was divided into four parts ; over each of 
these, under the authority of the emperor, a prsefect was to 
rule. Each of the prsefectures was again divided into dioceses, 
of which there were twelve in all, and over them officers 
called vicars were put in control. The dioceses were divided 
into something like one hundred and ten provinces, the old 




Akch of Const antine, Rome. 



provincial lines being to a large degree abandoned. In each 
province there was to be a governor, whose authority was to 
extend only to civil affairs ; special officers, not connected at 
all with the civil administration, were put in command of the 
troops, and henceforth civil and military affairs were to be 
kept strictly apart. As a last step in his new scheme, Con- 
stantine decided to remove his official capital from Eome to 
Byzantium, now called Constantinople, so that he might be 
nearer to what he considered the real center of his empire. 
Diocletian and Constantine builded well; the empire was 



TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY 461 

saved from immediate ruin ; and though, when Constantine 
died, troubles came again, the empire was able to bear the 
shock, and indeed to avert the coming dissolution for an- 
other hundred years. 

To Constantine belongs the honor of being the first emperor 
who frankly accepted Christianity and used its organization 
for the purpose of uplifting the empire. In 313, in the 
midst of the war for the possession of the crown, he is- umph of 
sued, in conjunction with a colleague, the famous Edict of ^^"stianity 
Milan, which made Christianity one of the accepted religions 
of the state. "JSTo man," says the edict, "shall be ,xle- Eusebius, 
nied the right to attach himself to the rites of Christian- ^frSof?/'" 
ity or of whatever religion his conscience may direct. ... x. 5 

All exceptions regarding Christianity shall be removed, . . . 
and now every Christian may freely and without molestation 
pursue and follow that course of worship which to him seems 
best." 

So far, Constantine had not distinguished Christianity by 
any special favor ; but during the next ten years he recog- 
nized clearly the enormous service which the powerful organi- 
zation of the church might give him, and consequently more 
and more he made Christianity the official religion of the 
empire. From the year 325 onward, Christianity was the 
accepted religion within the empire ; once, in the reign of 
the emperor Julian (361-363), an attempt was made to rees- 
tablish the supremacy of paganism ; bvit the attempt failed, 
and thenceforth Christianity was completely dominant, and 
paganism gradually disappeared from the western world. In 
the century following this triumph of Christianity the annals 
of the church are illumined by the names of two great men, 
Augustine and Chrysostom, whose writings and teachings did 
much to magnify the influence of the church in the world. 

The formal conversion of Constantine, about the year 325, 
marks the triumph of the Christian faith ; but unfortunately, 



462 



THE TRANSniON 



at the very time when the triumph came, the church was torn 

asunder by a most bitter doctrinal light. Almost from the 

472. An foundation of Christianity, men had differed in their ideas 

orthodox ^^g to the exact nature of the divinity of Christ ; but never 

established before had they been so completely divided as at the 

(325 A.D.) present time. Since a united church was the one thing 

that Constantine desired, in 325 a.d. he called together ' at 

Nicsea, in Bithynia, the whole body of the Christian clergy 

from all parts of the 
empire, and demanded 
of them that they settle 
the dispute. 

The two leaders in 
the fight, Athanasius 
and Arius, both resi- 
dents of Alexandria, 
appeared at the council 
ready to defend their 
beliefs. The debate 
was long and heated, 
but in the end the council came to an agreement, and Constan- 
tine ratified its work. Henceforth there was to be but one 
orthodox Christian creed, the creed of Athanasius ; Arius 
was condemned as a heretic, and his followers were excluded 
from the regular church, though they persisted in their heresy 
and continued to proselyte among the distant savage tribes. 

When Constantine died, in 337, he left behind him three 

sons. Instead of carefully husbanding all the powers of the 

473 Sue- empire in order to hold in check the horde of Germans 

cessors of who were now pressing into the empire from the north, 

Constantine 

(337-375 they dissipated their strength, in quarreling for the pos- 

^•^•) session of the throne. Constantius, the last of the sons, 

died in 360, and was succeeded the next year by his cousin 

Julian, noted in history for his endeavor to restore paganism 




Ruins of the Basilica of Coxstantixe, 
Rome. 



TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY 



463 




as the official religion of the empire. In 363 Julian was suc- 
ceeded by Valentinian, who foiind the burden of the empire 

too great to bear alone, and there- 
fore divided his authority with his 
brother Valens, reserving the west 
for himself and giving the east 
to his associate. In the reign of 
these two emperors the flood of 
Germanic invasions finally broke 
upon the empire, and we must now 
pause to examine the .manners 
and customs of these barbarian 
hordes. 

What we know of the Germans 
before they entered the empire 
must be gathered largely 474. ^an 
from the works of Csesar 
and Tacitus. Tacitus de- 
scribes them thus : '' They have stern blue eyes and ruddy 
hair; their bodies are large and robust, but powerful 
only in sudden efforts. They are impatient of toil and 
labor ; thirst and heat easily overcome them ; but from the 
nature of their soil and climate, they are proof against cold 
and hunger." They lived in the forests and marshes of the 
north, devoting their lives to hunting and fishing and to war. 
Of agriculture they knew only the merest rudiments ; what 
wealth they had was represented by their herds of cattle. 
Their houses were huts ; their dress, the skins of animals or 
coarsely woven cloths. 

Like all savage or semicivilized peoples, their chief occu- 
pation was war. " To earn by the sweat of your brow, what Tacitus 
you might gain by the price of your blood, was, in the Germamj, 
opinion of a German, a sluggish principle, unworthy of a Germamj, 
soldier." " Yet the intrepid warrior," continues Tacitus, ^^• 



JULIAX. 

Louvre, Paris. 



ners and 

customs of 

primitive 

Germans 

Tacitus, 

Germany, 

iv. 



464 THE TRANSITION 

"who in the field braved every danger, becomes, in times of 
peace, a listless sluggard ; • • . the management of his hou^e 
and lands, he leaves to his women, to the old men, and the 
infirm of the family ; he himself lounges in stupid repose." 

When not engaged in war or hunting, the German devoted 
his days and nights to drinking and gambling ; quarrels and 
bloodshed resulted, and many men were willing to stake even 
their freedom on a throw of the dice. This was the worst vice 
of the Germans ; their greatest virtue was the purity of their 
family life. Absolute faithfulness to the marriage tie was the 
pride and law of every household. 

In government, the German organization was simple : some 
of the^ tribes elected kings, but most of them were led by mili- 
tary chiefs who owed their position to bravery in the field. 
In all important matters, the final decision was left to the 
fighting men, who met in assembly and indicated their pleas- 
ure by the clash of arms. In war, they fought in companies 
organized according to family ties ; but besides the regular 
host, every leader gathered about him a band of young men 
who were bound to him by a special oath to defend him even 
with their lives. 

Such were the Germans in the time of Tacitus. Two cen- 
turies and a half later, when they finally broke the frontier, 
they were much more civilized, but they still retained enough 
of their original qualities to distinguish them sharply from 
the inhabitants of the empire. 

In 375 began what the historian Hodgkin calls " the Death 

of Rome." In that year the Visigoths, who came originally 

from the valley of the Vistula, possibly even from Scandinavia, 

475 Break- ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ been living quietly in the province of Dacia 

ing the for a century, appeared on the Danube and petitioned the 

(375-378 emperor Valens to allow them to cross the river. Why 

^^) did the Visigoths make this demand ? The answer is 

simple : out of the east there had suddenly swept into Europe 



GERMANIC INVASIONS 465 

a horde of savage tribes known as the Huns ; and the king- 
dom of the Ostrogoths, the eastern brothers of the Visigoths, 
crumbled before their arms. In 375 the dreaded Huns were 
already pressing into Dacia, and the only hope of safety for 
the Visigoths lay in crossing the Danube into Moesia. 

Valens hesitated for a time, and then granted their petition, 
stipulating, however, that they should cross the river without 
arms. Unfortunately for the empire, the officers to whom the 
task of transporting the Visigoths was intrusted were far 
from discreet 5 they robbed the men, heaped insults upon the 
women, and at the same time were careless about the collec- 
tion of the arms; consequently, the Visigoths came into the 
empire with hatred against their masters, and with resolution 
fixed to repay in full the indignities heaped upon them. 

Three years later, their chance came ; war was declared, 
and the Visigothic army took up its march upon Constanti- 
nople. Valens, a wholly incapable man, hurried out to meet 
them. The two forces came together near Adrianople, in 
Thrace: the battle was short; the Visigothic cavalry proved 
its superiority over the Roman infantry, Valens was killed, 
and his army routed. " Though the Romans," says Ammianus 
Ammianus, " have often experienced the fickleness of ^^3:i. 13, lo 
fortune, their annals contain no record of so destructive a de- 
feat since the battle of Cannye." 

From Adrianople, the Visigoths marched to Constantinople 

and laid siege to the city ; it looked as if only a miracle 

could save the eastern empire. A savior was at hand, 476. Theo- 

however; Gratian, son of Valentinian, emperor of the iorofthe 

west, saw the danger and associated with himself as empire 

^ (378-395 

emperor, Theodosius, a Spanish nobleman, and intrusted a.D.) 

to him the task of turning back the tide of Visigothic conquest. 

"Immediately, military discipline was reestablished in Jordanes, 

the Roman army, and the Roman fortunes revived ; ^j^^ Goths 

then, too, the Goths perceived that the sloth and negli- xxviL 



466 



THE TRANSITION 



gence of the earlier princes was no more, and shrank back in 
fear.'' Theodosius accomplished what Valens had dreamed of ; 
he induced the Visigoths to make 
peace and settled them in Thrace 
as allies and defenders of the 
empire. The empire was saved 
for the time, but a horde of Ger- 
mans was lying in one of the 
central provinces, ready to attack 
either Kome or Constantinople, 
should the fever of conquest 
come upon them again. 

In 392 Theodosius became the 
ruler of the whole empire ; three 

>,«« »n • years later he died and left 
477. Alaric, -^ 

king of the the empire to his two sons : 
Honorius taking the west, 
and Arcadius the east. That same year, the Visigoths chose 




Visigoths 



Theodosius. 
Statue at Barletta, Italy. 



7W 




SCALE OP MtLES 



Division of the Empire in 395. 



GERMANIC INVASIONS 467 

as their king, Alaric, a young man, full of martial spirit, to 
whom war was almost as necessary as the air he breathed. 
Forthwith he resolved to move out of Thrace on a military 
expedition, and he chose Greece as his goal. Had the safety 
of the empire depended upon Honorius or Arcadius, things 
would have gone ill, for both were utterly incompetent men ; 
but both were supported by capable ministers, and thus the 
empire was saved for a few years more. Stilicho, the minister 
of Honorius, hurried into Greece, succeeded in entrapping 
Alaric in Arcadia, and forced him to retire into the north. 

For six years Alaric rested in Illyricum. Then, so 
tradition has it, he felt an irresistible impulse to enter 
Italy aud penetrate to the city of Rome. In 402 he took 
up his march to the west; but before he could cross the 
Apennines, Stilicho met him again, and defeated him in 
battle at Pollentia, a city in Liguria. 

Had Honorius been wise, he would have guarded this 
minister with care ; instead, he allowed his court favorites 
to prejudice his mind against him, and in 408 Stilicho was 
put to death. With him perished the shield of the western 
empire. 

Immediately Alaric began to move again. This time he 
penetrated south of the Apennines as far as the city of 
Rome. Once, twice, and again, he came ; but the ^„g ^^^^ 
spell of the imperial city with its centuries of tradi- of Rome 
tion was heavy on the barbarian, and he seemed loath 
to take it. In 410 he came for the last time, and after a 
brief siege, entered the city which had not seen a foreign 
foe in its streets for eight hundred years ; and he gave its 
citizens and its buildings up to the mercy of his troops. 

Alaric rested in Rome less than a week; destiny seemed 
to be calling him on to other things. With his army he 
marched south, intending probably to cross into Sicily and 
Africa beyond; but before he had finished his preparations, 



468 THE TRANSITION 

he died, still a young man and apparently ready to lead his 
nation on to still more glorious deeds. With heavy hearts, 

479. Death his followers buried him in a swift-running stream which 

^ ^^^^ makes its way down from the Apennines to the sea. 

Hodgkin, 

Italy and " >^o, says Hodgkin, '^ under the health-bringing waters 

her I^^f^J^^- of the Busento, sleeps Alaric the A^isigoth, equaled, may 
ch. 7 it not be said, by only three other men in succeed- 

ing time as a changer of the course of history. And these 
• three are Mohammed, Columbus, and Napoleon." 

After the death of Alaric, the Visigoths retreated out of 
Italy under their new chief, Ataulf. They did not return 
to lUyricum, however; instead, they turned west, and set- 
tled in southern Gaid and Spain, establishing the first of 
the new Germanic kingdoms in the empire. 

About 400 A.D. another German tribe, the Vandals, also 
began to move. Starting from Pannonia, where they had 

480. Vandal settled some time before, with their wives and children, 
1400^4*55 their cattle and their household goods, they wandered to 
AD.) the west and entered Gaul, ravaging the country wher- 
ever they went. Slowly they made their way south, and 
finally crossed the Pyrenees into Spain. Here they were 
found by the Visigoths, who forced them into the southern 
part of the peninsula. 

Thus far the Vandals had had no great leader; in 428 
Genseric, the second of the heroes of the invasions, became 
their king. Unlike most of the Germans, he was small 
and ill-shapen, but he made up in craft what he lacked 
in physical strength, and among all the leaders of the 
Teutonic tribes he was the most cruel and the least prepos- 
sessing. The very year of his election, the Vandals were 
invited into Africa to aid with their arms one of the parties 
in a local struggle. The invitation was accepted with avidity ; 
but, having come as allies, they stayed as conquerors ; and be- 
fore the middle of the century they occupied the coast as far 



GERMANIC INVASIONS 469 

east as Egypt, thus establishing a second Germanic kingdom 
within the empire. 

One more dramatic incident in the career of the Vandals 
remains to be chronicled. In 455 they were urged to under- 
take an expedition into Italy by the empress Eudoxia, 481. Second 

who wished to use them as a means to satisfy a private ^ ^^^^ °^ 

•^ ^ Rome (455 

grudge. Naturally, the Vandals complied : landing at A.D.) 

Ostia, they pillaged the land as far as the city of Rome, 
Finally they entered the city, sacked and burned its build- 
ings, and carried away to Africa all the spoils that their 
galleys would contain. 

For another three quarters of a century, they maintained 
their supremacy in northern Africa ; then, as we shall see, their 
kingdom crumbled before the arms of the eastern emperor. 

While these changes were taking place on the continent, 

another horde of Germans had invaded Britain. In 449, so 

the tradition goes, two German adventurers, Hengist 482. The 

and Horsa, landed and settled on an island at the mouth Anglo- 

' Saxon 

of the Thames. Others followed them, and within a conquest 

century southern and eastern Britain had passed into the 

hands of three Germanic tribes : the Angles, the Saxons, and 

the Jutes. 

In the seventh century these barbarians were converted to 
Christianity by Augustine, a missionary sent out by the pope. 
In his work Augustine was opposed by missionaries of the 
ancient Celtic church of Ireland, but in the end the Anglo- 
Saxons, as they are now called, accepted the E-oman church, 
and thus Britain was added to the countries which acknowl- 
edged the supremacy of the bishop at Eome. 

Behind the Germans, lay that still more awful scourge, 
the Huns, probably the ancestors of the present Tartars. 
According to Jordanes, the historian of the Goths, 483. Attila, 
" They were small, foul, and skinny ; scarcely human of^Go?" 
withal, but spoken of as men because they possessed (435-453) 




470 



GERMANIC INVASIONS 471 

something distantly resembling human speech." They Jordanes, 

lived all their lives on horseback, scarcely descending, History oj 

' *^ ^^ the Goths, 

we are told, even to sleep. Of agriculture, even of the xxiv. 

herding of flocks, they knew scarcely anything ; all their lives 

they spent wandering from place to place, searching for 

plunder and destroying the work of other men's hands. 

Their first exploit in Europe, as we have seen, was the con- 
quest of the Ostrogoths and the expulsion of the Visigoths 
from Dacia. Two generations later, about 435, a new leader, 
named Attila, was chosen as their king. This man Attila is 
one of the nightmares of history : for twenty years or more 
he was the terror of all Europe; to the Christians he was 
known as the " Scourge of God." For ten or fifteen years 
Attila was busy extending his power over the people of east- 
ern Europe ; then, about 450, he crossed the Khine and appeared 
in the country not far from where Paris now lies. In 451 
he was met at Chalons by an army composed of Komans and 
Visigoths alike. These Visigoths w^ere the followers of Ataulf, 
who had settled in southerp Gaul a generation before. The 
battle was fierce, and neither side gained a definite victory ; 
but in the end Attila withdrew, and Gaul was saved from the 
Hunnish conqueror. 

Next year Attila marched south against Italy. Crossing the 
Alps, he appeared in the country about the head of the Adri- 
atic, where he besieged and conquered the city of Aquileia. 
Those who escaped with their lives fled to the small islands 
which dot the head of the Adriatic, and thus was founded the 
city of Venice, which many centuries later became the queen 
of the Mediterranean Sea. 

From Aquileia, Attila marched south bent on capturing 
Rome. Now occurred one of those scenes, common enough in 
the fifth and sixth centuries, but which we at this late day 
are almost at a loss to understand. One day there appeared 
in the camp of Attila a Eoman embassy led by the bishop, 



472 



THE TRANSITION 



the famous Pope Leo the Great. Somehow or other the bishop 
worked upon the fears of the conqueror so that he paused in 
his career, and instead of attacking Eome he recrossed the 
Alps into his own kingdom. 

Shortly afterward Attila died, and before long his kingdom 
fell to pieces. Within a quarter of a century, the Huns had 




\ I. NICK. AS ]• 



completely disappeared from European history. Though they 
left no personal traces behind them, their coming had set the 
whole world awry. 



At the end of the third century a.d., the Eoman empire 
seemed upon the verge of dissolution, but the catastrophe was 

484. Sum- averted by the wise reforms of Diocletian and Constantine. 

mary In the reign of Constantine, about 325, came the triumph 

of Christianity ; for Constantine then recognized it as the offi- 
cial religion of the state, and thenceforth paganism gradually 
disappeared from the western world. 

About forty years after the death of Constantine, began the 
invasions which had been so long threatening. Impelled by 
the Huns, the Visigoths crossed the Danube in 375, and three 
years later, at Adrianople, the emperor Valens was killed and 



GERMANIC INVASIONS 473 

his army totally defeated. The empire was saved, it is true, 
by the valor of Theodosius ; but when he died, the Visigoths 
under Alaric resumed their attacks; and in 410 the city of 
Rome itself fell a prey to their arms. After Alaric's death, 
the Visigoths retreated out of Italy and settled in southern 
Gaul and Spain. Thus was the first of the Germanic king- 
doms founded within the empire. Some fifteen or eighteen 
years later, in 428, the Vandals under Genseric crossed into 
Africa, where they finally occupied the coast as far east as 
Egypt, thus founding the second kingdom within the empire. 
Some twenty years later began a third migration which ulti- 
mately resulted in the founding of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms 
in Britain. Of the Huns, the force which set the Germans in 
motion, it is sufficient to say, that they came like a plague out 
of the east, that they afflicted Europe for two or three genera- 
tions, and then passed away without leaving any permanent 
trace of their presence. 

TOPICS 

(1) What danger was there in having the Roman army officered Suggestive 
by non-Romans ? (2) Was Diocletian's division of the empire wise °^^*^^ 
or unwise ? Give your reasons. (3) What was the difference 
between Diocletian's plans for keeping the empire alive and those 
of Constantine ? Which do you think were better and why ? 
(4) Compare Constantine's organization of the empire with that of 
Augustus. (5) Find out what the doctrines of Arius and Athana- 
sius were. Is there a sect of Christians to-day somewhat resem- 
bling the Arians? (6) How did the teachings of Christ allow so 
much variance in doctrine ? (7) Compare the Germans with the 
early Greeks and Romans. (8) Give an account of the conflicts 
between Romans and Germans before 378 a.d. (9) If Valens 
had refused to permit the Visigoths to cross the Danube, would 
Rome ever have fallen ? (10) Under what circumstances had 
Rome previously " seen a foreign foe in its streets " ? (11) What 
is meant by Vandalism ? (12) Whose fate may Attila have had 
in mind when he turned back from conquering Italy ? 

(13) The citizen in the city of Rome in the late empire. Search 
(14) The last of the Vestal Virgins. (15) A journey from Rome *°P^cs 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 29 



474 



THE TRANSITION 



to Britain. (16) A journey from Rome to Antioch. (17) The 
council of Nicsea. (18) The Roman conception of the Germans. 
(19) The early German conception of the Romans. (20) Life 
among the Goths. (21) Battle of Adrianople. (22) The sack of 
Rome by the Goths. 



Geography 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
work 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 396, 397, 466. Freeman, Historical 
Geography, chs. iv. v. 

Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (abridged by 
Wm. Smith), chs. vii.-xvi. ; Bury, History of the Later Roman 
Empire, bk. ii,, bk. iii. ch. ii. ; Duruy, History of Rome (VII. VIII.), 
chs. xcix.-cix. ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 
(unabridged), chs. xiv.-xxxvi. ; Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, chs. 
ii. iii. ; Church, Beginnings of the Middle Ages, Introduction, ch. i. ; 
Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages, chs. i.-v. ; Adams, Civ- 
ilization during the Middle Ages, chs. i.-iv. ; Duruy, I'he Middle 
Ages, chs. i. ii. ; Hodgkin, Dynasty of Theodosius, — Raly and her 
Invaders, I. II. ; Bradley, Story of the Goths ; Dill, Roman Society 
in the Last Century of the Western Empire ; Oman, Art of War, 
bk. i. ch. i. ; Fowler, City-State, ch. xi. ; Mihnan, History of 
Christianity, bks. iv. v., — Latin Christianity, bks. i. ii. ; Brueck, 
History of the Catholic Church, I. pp. 117-220; Plsher, History of 
the Christian Church, period iii. ; Kurtz, Church History, I. pp. 235- 
402 ; Moeller, History of the Christian Church, period ii. ; Alzog, 
Manual of Church History, I. pp. 462-765, II. pp. 1-29 ; Uhlhorn, 
Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism, bk. iii. ; Gardner, Julian. 

Ammianus Marcellinus, History, bks. xiv.-xxxi. ; Tacitus, Ger- 
many, especially chs. iv. xiv. xv. ; Eusebius, bks. ix. x. ; Lactantius, 
The Deaths of the Persecutors, chs. x.-lii. ; The Early Germans, and 
Register of Dignitaries, in " Translations and Reprints from Origi- 
nal Sources of European History," vol. VI., nos. 3 and 4. 

Mrs. E. Charles, Conquering and to Conquer; A.J. Church, 
The Count of the Saxon Shore ; E. D. Crake, Evanus ; F. Dahn, 
Felicitas ; G. P. R. James, Attila ; Charles Kingsley, Hypatia ; 
Mrs. Lee, Parthenia ; E. Leslie, Quadratus ; Merejkowski, The 
Death of the Gods ; Mrs. E. Marshall, No. XIII. ; J. M. Neale, 
The Egyptian Wande7-ers; E. Palmer, Norma; Mrs. J. B. Peploe, 
Alypius of Tagaste ; Scheffel, Ekkehard ; Sneyd, Cellene ;" W. Ware, 
Julian ; Cardinal Wiseman, Fahiola. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE FALL OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE AND THE 
FOUNDATION OF GERMANIC STATES 

Two years after the death of Honorius in 423, his nephew 

Valentinian III. ascended the throne and ruled the western 

empire for thirty years. Valentinian was as incompe- 485. End of 

tent as his uncle, and while he sat quietly in Ravenna the western 

empire 
and in Rome, the storm of Germanic invasions was (455-476 

raging in all parts of his empire. Had it not been for ^^^ 

the political skill of his mother Placidia, who ruled as his 

regent for many years, and for the devotion of his general 

Aetius, the empire might thus early have been destroyed. In 

455 Valentinian died, and his death was speedily followed by 

the Vandal sack of Rome. 

Thenceforward, the office of emperor was nothing more 

than a toy for Ricimer, the German captain of the imperial 

army; for nearly twenty years he set up and pulled down 

emperors at his will. When he died, in 472, his place as 

king-maker was taken by Orestes, an Illyriah, who set his own 

son, Romulus, called Augustulus, on the throne. But Orestes 

was not supported by the German mercenaries as Ricimer had 

been, and therefore his rule was short, in 476 his son was 

deposed, and he himself was killed, because he refused to 

accede to the demands of the German soldiers, and another 

German, Odoacer, assumed the reins of government, without 

going through the formality of setting up a puppet ^^^^^^^..^^ 

emperor. Thus ended the rule of the Roman emperors itaitj and 

in the west. " It is not a storm, or an earthquake, or ^^^^^ ^J^'^ 

a fire, this end of the Roman rule over Italy ; it is more ch. 8 

475 




476 



478 THE TRANSITION 

like the gentle fluttering down to earth of the last leaf of a 
withered tree." 

The deposition of Komulus in 476 was but the culmination of 
a process which had been slowly maturing for two or three cen- 
486. Causes turies. The causes of the fall of the western empire are 
of the fall many and hard to define, but they may all be summed 
up in a few words. In the first place, all production, both on 
the farms and in the shops, was in the hands of slaves ; 
there was little for the poor freeman to do but to settle in the 
city and live upon the bounty of the government. With the 
exception of the very few rich nobles and knights, almost 
the entire population of Italy ultimately became a population 
of paupers, who knew no patriotism, who had no ambition, 
who were worse than useless for the defense of the state. 
Conditions were better in the provinces for a long time ; but 
as the city population grew, and the increased responsibilities 
were thrown on the emperors, w^ho were making vain endeav- 
ors to hold the Germans in check, the burden of taxation grew 
heavier and heavier, till the government absorbed the greater 
part of the wealth that was produced. Merchants, manufac- 
turers, and landowners alike were ruined, and ultimately the 
world was forced to live largely on what had been produced in 
all the earlier ages of antiquity. 

A second cause is to be found in the fact that for generation 

after generation the empire had been drained of its strongest 

and bravest men by constant wars, so that the only men left 

were the weaklings who could find nothing better to do than to 

sit idly in the cities and clamor for bread. The Koman army 

by the middle of the fifth century had long since ceased to be 

Bryce, Holy Roman in anything but name ; " after Constantine," says 

Roman Bryce, " the barbarians form the majority of the troops ; 

ch. Hi. 9 after Theodosius, a Roman is an exception." German 

mercenaries took the place of Roman citizens, the legionary 

formation was abandoned, discipline was relaxed, patriotism 



FOUNDATION OF GP:RMANIC STATES 479 

ceased to actuate the army ; and when for the first time in six 
centuries the Roman foot soldier found it impossible to stand 
against cavalrymen, the empire was gradually submerged 
under the flood of a barbarian horde. 

Finally, at the very time when the empire needed all its 
united strength, the east and west fell asunder. The breach 
was not inevitable, for such a man as Theodosius was able to 
hold it together ; but men like Theodosius were rare in the 
fifth century, and consequently the old antagonism between 
the Greek and the Roman was felt once more, and in the dis- 
union the German invader found his opportunity for estab- 
lishing himself within the western empire. 

In 476 A.D. the burden of the centuries became too great 

for the weakened western empire to bear, and the government, 

as we have seen, fell into the hands of the barbarians. 

' 487. Sur- 

Fortunately for the continuance of Roman traditions, vival of 

the emperors at Constantinople found a method by which ^^^f^ ^^f-- 
i- i -J ditions in 

they could turn aside the flood of barbarian invaders, and the eastern 
so for almost another thousand years, till the victory of e^npire 

the Turks in 1453, the empire of the east continued to exist; 
and though its history only rarely affects the history of west- 
ern Europe, still the rulers at Constantinople kept alive, more 
or less perfectly, the traditions of Roman law and customs, 
and held the barbarians of Asia in check till the new nations 
of western Europe were able to relieve them of the burden. 

The kingdom which Odoacer founded in Italy upon the ruins 
of the western empire lasted only a few 3^ears. He did 438 ostro- 

his best to reconcile Italy to his government, and to seat gothic con- 
quest of 
himself firmly on the throne ; but it was all of no avail : italy (490- 

a mightier man, Theodoric the Ostrogoth, the greatest of ^^^ '^•^•) 

all the early Germanic conquerors, came to Italy, and before 

him the power of Odoacer vanished into air. 

After Attila died, the Ostrogoths threw off the yoke of the 

Huns, and were allowed to settle in the Danube provinces as 



480 



THE TRANSITION 



allies of the eastern emperor. Twenty years later, Theodoric 
became their king; and for fifteen years he went up and 
down in Moesia and Pannonia, doing everything in his power 
to consolidate the Ostrogoths, and trying his best to serve his 
imperial master. Finally, about 490, he became restless, and 
appeared before the eastern emperor, begging to be allowed 
to undertake the conquest 
Jordanes, of Italy. " ' Why,' 

the Goths, ' 

Ivii. western part of your 

empire, which your fore- 
fathers ruled so long, 
suffer under the yoke of 
Odoacer? Send me and 
my people thither, if you 
will; thus will you raise 
from your shoulders the 
heavy burden of our 
maintenance and, if God 
wills it, and I am victori- 
ous, I will establish your 
honor before God in the 
west once more.' " 

The eastern emperors 
knew how to save themselves from harm by directing the wild 
energies of the Germanic tribes against the western empire ; 
consequently, Theodoric's request was granted almost before 
it was made, and in the year 490 he set out for Italy. Thus 
was the eastern empire rid of a possible future foe, and hence- 
forth no German host ever again threatened Constantinople. 

The conquest of Italy was comparatively rapid. In three 
great battles Odoacer was completely outgeneraled, and hy 
493, after murdering his rival in cold blood, Theodoric was 
absolute master of Italy. 




Palace of Theodoric, Ravenna. 



FOUNDATION OF GERMANIC STATES 



481 



During the thirty-three years in which Theodoric ruled 
over Italy, he almost succeeded in setting up a new Germanic 
empire. " From his palace at Verona . , . he issued 489. Theod- 
equal laws for Roman and Goth, and bade the intruder, °^Lrnment 
if he must occupy part of the lands, at least to respect Bryce, Holy 
the goods and person of his fellow-subject. Juris- Empire 
prudence and administration remained in native hands ch. Hi. 

, . . and while agriculture and the arts revived in the 
provinces, Rome herself celebrated the visits of a master who 




provided for the wants of her people and preserved with care 
the monuments of her former splendor. With peace and 
plenty, men's minds took hope, and the study of letters 
revived. The last gleam of classical literature gilds the reign 



482 THE TRANSITION 

of this barbarian," Besides all this, Theodoric did his best 

to keep his kingdom in friendly relations with all his neigh 

bors; by marriages and alliances, he connected his kingdom 

with all the Germanic states which had sprung up in the west, 

Jordanes, SO that, as Jordanes says, " there was not, in all the west, 

History of ^^^^ nation which, while he lived, did not serve him 

the Goths, 

Iviii. either in friendliness or in subjection." 

Unfortunately for the permanence of his kingdom, the last 

years of his life were spent in quarreling with the bishop at 



Church of St. Sophia, Constantinople. 
Now a Mohammedan mosque. 

Rome, with the emperor at Constantinople, and with his min- 
isters at home ; so that when he died he left to his successors 
only the shadow of the power which he had exercised for over 
thirty years. 

Within two years after the death of Theodoric, Justinian 
ascended the throne of the eastern empire. This emperor, who 
490. Justin- began life as the son of an Illyrian peasant, and who mar- 
ian's Code ried a dancing girl named Theodora, is perhaps the great- 
est ruler whom the empire had produced since Constantine. 
To him Constantinople owed its magnificent church of St. 



FOUNDATION OF GERMANIC STATES 483 

Sophia, and in his reign the culture of the silkworm was first 
introduced into Europe; but his fame rests especially upon his 
codification of the Roman law, and his conquests in the west. 

For centuries the mass of the Roman law had been grow- 
ing greater and greater, and therefore Justinian resolved to 
work over the entire literature of the law and to select 
from it those parts which were still of live interest. This 
work was intrusted to the jurist Tribonian, who was busy for 
many years, and then issued the result of his labors in a series 
of books : the Code, which contained the statutes of the empire 
still in force : the Digest, a mass of classified selections from 
the writings of the Jurists; and the Institutes, a short sum- 
mary of the law, intended as a text-book for the use of stu- 
dents. By the labors of Tribonian, the Roman law was finally 
organized and perfected ; thenceforth it stood in logical unity 
and completeness, and even to-day it is the basis of every code 
of laws in every country of western Europe except England. 

The second great accomplishment of Justinian was the 

reunion by conquest of the west and east under his single 

rule, though he himself never led an army. In 533 he 49 j qq^_ 

intrusted to Belisarius an expedition which was to quests of 

Justinian 
proceed against the Vandals in northern Africa. The (533-553 

history of this war is admirably told in the works of the A.D.) 

Greek historian Procopius. In one short campaign, Belisarius 

accomplished his task, and northern Africa was again added 

to the lands of the empire. '^ Thus the realm of Genseric, Procopius 

which he had handed down to his descendants in all its Vandal 

might, was destroyed, root and branch, by a band of 

five thousand horsemen, . . . who scarcely knew when they 

approached the shores of Africa where and how they were 

going to land." 

Next, Belisarius crossed the sea into Italy ; but, though 

he fought for five years, he met with no permanent success. 

Some ten years later he came again, but again the Ostrogoths 



484 THE TRANSITION 

opposed him successfully, and finally he was replaced by 
JSTarses, another of the emperor's great captains. The Ostro- 
goths fought on desperately for the land which Theodoric had 
bequeathed to them; but in 553 they were finally forced to 
relinquish their hold upon the peninsula ; sadly they withdrew 
themselves from Italy and lost themselves among the other 
German tribes north of the Alps. Thus the work of Theod- 
oric came to naught: only twenty-seven years had he been 
dead, yet scarcely a vestige of his prosjjerous reign was left in 
Italy. 

Still the whirl of rapid changes goes on. For twelve years 
Narses ruled Italy from the city of Ravenna, as a part of the 
492 Lorn- eastern empire. Then, in 565, Justinian died, and the 
bard con- enemies of Narses at the imperial court plotted for his 
Italy (568 I'^call. Soon they accomplished their purpose, and the 
^•^ ) decree was issued ; but Narses never returned to Con- 

stantinople ; instead, so the tradition has it, he opened the 
gates of Italy to the Lombards, a savage tribe of Germans 
living in Pannonia. That Narses actually invited the Lom- 
bards into Italy is doubtful ; but whether he did or not, the 
day when they set foot in Italy was the beginning of the 
Hodgkin saddest period which the peninsula had yet exjjcrienced, 
Italy and for the Lombards, as Hodgkin says, '^ are the anarchists 
ers bk. vi. ^^ ^^^^ Vdlkerwcmderting, whose delight is only in destruc- 
^^^- ^ tion, and who seem incapable of culture." 

In 568, under their leader Alboin, they entered the penin- 
sula, and soon the power of the eastern empire was confined 
to the cities of the southern coast and a narrow strip of ter- 
ritory along the eastern coast, known as the Exarchate of 
Ravenna. Alboin was crowned king at Pavia, but he did not 
live very long; for he was murdered by his wife Rosamond 
because of the indignity he had put upon her, making her 
drink wine out of the skull of her murdered father. Though 
the Lombards broke the power of the eastern empire in Italy, 



FOUNDATION OF GEKMANIC STATES 



485 



they never completely conquered the land. Both Kome and 
Ravenna held out against their attacks, and consequently 
they had to content themselves with part of the lands of the 
Po valley, henceforth known as Lombardy, Tnscany (ancient 
Etruria), Spoleto (ancient Picenum), and Beneventum (ancient 




Samnium and Lucania) ; and even that which they held they 
did not know how to organize into a consolidated kingdom. 
Till the day when their possessions were absorbed into the 
Prankish kingdom, iheir power was divided among a number 
of petty princes, none of whom recognized the king as any- 
thing more than a nominal overlord. 

In the east, too, the empire of Justinian was crumbling to 
pieces. Attack after attack was made upon the frontiers by a 



486 THE TRANSITION 

new race of Persians, who succeeded for a time in wresting 
Syria and Egypt from the control of the empire. Under 
Heraclius (610-641), these territories were temporarily re- 
gained, but before he died both his empire and that of the Per- 
sians were threatened with destruction by the Mohammedans, 
of whom we shall hear more in the next chapter. 

In the year when the Lombards first set foot in Italy, the 

Franks, the greatest of all the Germanic tribes, had already 

493. Clovis, been established in the empire for more than a century. 

King of the Sometime about 450 a.d. they crossed the Ehine, and 

Franks 

(480-511 from that time on they occupied the river valley as 

^•■^■) far south as the river Main. From this, their original 

habitation in the empire, they never wandered ; instead, they 
slowly extended their power in all directions, and it is this 
one fact more than any other that is the secret of their final 
triumph in the Germanic world. 

In early times, the Franks were divided into a number of 
petty tribes united loosely into two great federations : the 
Salian and the Ripuarian Franks. About 480, Clovis, who 
traced his ancestry back to a mythical hero, Merovius, was 
elected chief by one of the Salian tribes, and with steady, 
unrelenting purpose he set to work to unite all the Franks 
under his rule. Within a few years, the Salians had acknowl- 
edged him as their king. Then his ambition led him in 486 to 
enter northern Gaul, where the Romans still remained in con- 
trol ; and at Soissons, on a tributary of the Seine, he met and 
totally defeated the Roman forces under Syagrius. By that 
one battle, Clovis added to his dominions all of Gaul north of 
the river Loire. Twenty-five years longer he ruled over the 
Franks, and in that time he added to his dominions the lands 
of the upper Rhine valley and most of the territory of the 
Visigoths between the Loire and the Pyrenees ; so that on the 
day of his death he controlled an empire greater than that of 
any German prince before his time. 



FOUNDATION OF GERMANIC STATES 487 

Up to the time of Clovis, the Franks had all been pagans ; 

but Clovis's wife was a Catholic Christian, and in 496, after a 

battle with the Alemanni, Clovis resolved to accept his 494. Con- 

wife's religion, and forced his followers to do the same. «7®^.^^°^^j[ 
° ' Clovis (496 

The importance of this step can only be appreciated AD.) 

when we remember that all the other Germans who had thus 
far entered the empire were Arians, and therefore heretics in 
the eyes of the orthodox church. Now, by the conversion of 
Clovis, the orthodox church gained a powerful ally which it 
could and did use against its opponents. 

Within a generation after the death of Clovis, the Franks 
conquered the Burgundians, another Germanic tribe which had 
invaded tlie empire early in the fifth century and settled ^gg Later 
in the valley of the Rhone. But, though the descendants Here- 

of Clovis continued to rule for almost two hundred and (511 752 
fifty years, the Merovingian house produced scarcely a ^^) 

single man worthy of the name of king. Owing to the vicious 
practice of dividing the ro3^al authority on the death of the king 
among all his sons, the land was constantly torn by internal 
strife ; nevertheless, it was the fortune of the Frankish people 
that their national power remained great in spite of the weak- 
ness of their kings. The territory which they had conquered, 
they never completely lost; and throughout this period the 
lands from the ocean almost to the Elbe, from the North Sea 
to the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, owned the Franks as 
their masters. 

The first Germanic invasions were undertaken by tribes 
which came into the empire without any definite idea as to 
how or where they were going to settle in the empire. 496. Sum- 
In 476, the western empire finally fell as a result of mary 
these random attacks, and the kingdom of Odoacer took its 
place ; but in less than twentj^ years it succumbed to the attacks 
of Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, the first barbarian who made an 



488 



THE TRANSITION 



honest effort to reconcile the antagonism between the con- 
querors and their Roman victims. In this attempt we have 
the beginnings of the amalgamation of Roman and German in 
language and in life which ultimately was to result in the for- 
mation of the Romance languages and of the Romance nations. 
Theodoric failed, and within thirty years after his death the 

splendid fabric which 
he had built crumbled 
before the attacks of 
the hosts of Justinian, 
the great lawmaker. 

Once again, in 568, 
the peninsula became 
the prey of an invading 
host, the Lombards, the 
worst of all the Ger- 
manic invaders. Mean- 
while there had grown 
up in the north a great 
and permanent power, 
the kingdom of the Franks. Founded by the greatest of the 
Merovingians, Clovis, it grew steadily in power, in spite of the 
continual strife between the members of the royal family, till 
it controlled nearly all the lands from the Elbe to the sea. 
The secret of this growth is to be found in two facts : first, 
the Franks never migrated from their original home, but 
extended their power to the lands about them ; second, their 
conquests were confined almost exclusively to Germanic peo- 
ples ; thus they never contended with the difficulties which 
met the first invaders of the empire. 




Interior of S. Apollinare Nuovo, 
Ravenna. 

Built by Theodoric. 



Suffgrestive 
topics 



TOPICS 

(1) The first king of Rome and the last emperor. (2) In what 
other country that you know of did slavery keep the people in a 
backward state ? Why ? (3) In an encyclopedia look up the early 



FOUNDATION OF GERMANIC STATES 



489 



life of Theodoric and find out what relation it had to his manner 
of governing Italy. (4) What nations in the west were there 
at that time, to serve Theodoric "in friendliness or subjection" ? 
(5) What was the form of early Greek and Roman laws '? Who 
were the. first codifiers of Roman law ? (6) Judging from his wars 
in the west, what ambition do you think Justinian had ? (7) Be- 
sides th6 Franks, what other nation about which you have studied 
never left its original home but increased its power by adding bit by 
bit to its territory ? (8) Who were the Arians ? In what w^ay did 
they differ from the orthodox church ? 

(9) The Franks. (10) The Lombards. (11) The Saxons. 
(12) The Ostrogoths. (13) Germans in the Roman army. 
(14) Good side of Theodoric's life. (15) The latest Roman build- 
ings. (16) The circus in Constantinople. (17) Roman mosaics. 
(18) Mosque of St. Sophia. (19) Life of Justinian. (20) Clovis. 



Search 
topics 



Modern 
authorities 



REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 216, 217, 476, 477, 481, 485. Freeman, Historical Geography 
Geography, chs. iv. v. 

Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (abridged by 
Wm. Smith), chs. xvii.-xxv. ; Bury, History of the Later Boman 
Empire, bks. iii. iv. , bk. v. chs. i.-v. ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of 
the Roman Empire (unabridged), chs. xxxvii.-xlvi. ; Hodgkin, Raly 
and her Invaders, vol. II. pp. 644-end, vols. III. -VI., — Theodoric; 
Oman, Europe, 476-918, chs. i.-xi. ; Emerton, Introduction, chs. 
vi.-viii. ; Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, ch. iii. ; Church, Beginnings 
of the 3Iiddle Ages, chs. ii.-iv. ; Adams, Civilization during the 
Middle Ages, ch. v. ; Duruy, The Middle Ages, chs. iii. -v. ; Brueck, 
History of the Catholic Church, I. pp. 221-241 ; Milman, Latin 
Christianity^ bk. iii. ; Alzog, 3Ianual of Church History, II. pp. 
30-166 ; Sergeant, The Franks, chs. i.-xiii. ; Dill, Roman Society 
in the Last Century of the Western Empire ; Oman, Art of War, 
bk. i. ch. ii., bk. ii. chs. i. ii. ; Hadley, Introduction to Roman 
Law; Morey, Outlines of Roman Law. 

Procopius, Vandal War, — Gothic War; Extracts from Roman Sources 
Law in F. M. Fling's " Studies in European History," vol. I. 

The Martyr of the Catacombs {■Awonyvaous); W. Collins, Auto 
nina ; Dahn, The Struggle for Rome ; De Genlis, Belisarius 
Kingsley, The Roman and the Teuton. 



Illustrative 
works 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROMAN PAPACY AND THE 
CREATION OF THE MEDIEVAL EMPIRE 

After the death of Constantine, as we have seen, the empire 
finally separated into two great organisms, with a line of sepa- 

497. The ration running along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. 

the wester '^^^^^ division of the empire involved a division of the 

church church as well, and in later centuries the breach between 

the churches of the east and of the west became more and more 
complete. After all, the rivalries between the Greeks and the 
Romans had never been completely reconciled; and as the 
empire fell apart, the differences in the ideals of the two civili- 
zations again revealed themselves and made their influence felt 
upon the doctrines of the Christian church. The eastern church 
tended more and more to speculation, the western church to or- 
ganization ; and as we enter upon the Middle Ages the Chris- 
tian world was no longer a unity ; within it, there were two 
distinct churches : the Greek Catholic church of the east, and 
the Roman Catholic church of the west, neither of which was 
much affected by the development of the other. 

In the years immediately after the death of Jesus, Christian 
worshipers met informally, without any thought of organiza- 

498. Growth tion. Soon, however, separate congregations were organ- 

of church [zed, and within each of these a number of officers with 
organiza- ' 

tion definite functions were elected. At the head of the con- 

gregation stood the presiding elder, or Bishop as he was called ; 
below him were the officiating presbyters, or priests ; and below 
them, the deacons. Then came the time when the parent church 
sent out missionaries to establish congregations in the sur- 
rounding territory, over each of which one of the presbyters was 

490 



PAPACY AND MEDLEVAL EMPIRE 491 

placed in authority, with the understanding that he should still 
acknowledge the authority of the bishop of the parent church. 
In this way, in time, the bishop became head over a number of 
churches, and we have the beginnings of the modern diocese. 

The hierarchy had certainly developed to this point by the 
time of Constantine ; about that time or soon afterward, an- 
other step in the development may be observed. Certain 
bishops, by reason of the importance of their churches, came 
to be honored above the mass of their brethren; these were 
called the Metropolitans or Archbishops ; usually they were the 
bishops in the larger cities of the empire. 

Still the development was not complete : by the middle of 
the fifth century, a grade of clergy higher even than the met- 
ropolitans had come into existence ; these were the Patriarchs, 
heads of the oldest and most important church centers in all 
the empire — cities like Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Con- 
stantinople, and Rome. A centralizing tendency is thus observ- 
able in the growth of the church; let us next see how this tend- 
ency was carried to its extreme limits in the western church. 

If we look at the map, we shall see that the only patriarchal 
church in the west was in the city of Rome : therefore we 
can easily understand how the bishop of Rome gradually . 

came to be ecclesiastical primate over the entire western macy of 
world. But the claims of the bishops of Rome were even °°^® 

greater than this : by virtue of their office, they contended that 
they were primates not only over the churches of the Avest, but 
over all the Christian churches in all the world. This claim 
was based upon the doctrine of the Petrine supremacy, which 
may be briefly stated as follows. Christ, said the Roman 
bishops, had designated Peter as the chief of his apostles in 
those famous words, ''Thou art Peter, and upon this rock Matthew, 
I will build my church, and the gates 'of hell shall not ^^^- ^^ 

prevail against it." Since Peter had founded the church at 
Rome, and had acted as its head, according to the Roman 



492 THE ^rRANSITION 

claims, the bishops of Rome were his spiritual successors, and 
as such were entitled to all the consideration which Peter had 
enjoyed as the first of the apostles. Though the primacy of 
Peter among the apostles was acknowledged by many eastern 
Fathers, most of the churches of the east refused to recognize 
the bishop of Rome as universal head of the Church ; but the 
churches of the west grew more and more accustomed to look- 
ing to Rome as their spiritual mother, and by the beginning of 
the Middle Ages, he was a bold man who denied the primacy 
of the Pope, as the bishop of Rome had now come to be called. 
Many things had occurred to augment the power of the 
Roman bishop. Thus, when Constantine transferred his cap- 
500. Growth ital to Constantinople, he left the Roman bishop as the 
of the greatest man in the west ; preef ects and governors there 

papacy were, but none of them could rival him in dignity or 

power. Then, too, the bishops of Rome were an especially 
worthy and high-minded set of men, and the authority of the 
church was constantly augmented by the clearness and fairness 
with which they settled the cases of dispute which came before 
them from all parts of the western world. As time went on, 
the custom of appealing to Rome grew more and more com- 
mon, so that, by the end of the sixth century, what in the 
beginning had been a voluntary act, came to be a matter of 
law: the bishops of Rome were now the last court of appeal 
in all cases of ecclesiastical dispute. 

The bishops of Rome also found an excellent opportunity 
for exercising their influence and impressing their greatness 
upon the peoj)le in the time of the (xer manic invasions, which 
followed one another in such rapid succession in the fifth and 
sixth centuries. Repeatedly they succeeded in saving the peo- 
ple from the wrath of the barbarians; and it was but natural 
that the papal power gradually came to be looked upon as some- 
thing more than human. Finally, more than any other church 
in the west, Rome sent out missionaries to distant parts of 



PAPACY AND MEDIEVAL EMPIRE 493 

the world, and every church established by the missionaries 
became a center of loyalty to the bishop of Rome and served 
to augment his authority. From these and many other causes, 
l^y the end of the sixth century the entire western world came 
to recognize the primacy of Rome in spiritual affairs. 

Two or three centuries later, the bishops of Rome began to 
claim supremacy in temporal affairs as well ; but that is a mat- 
ter which belongs to the history of the Middle Ages, and need 
not be treated here. For the present it is sufficient to remeni- 
-ber that the western church came to be a thoroughly centralized 
spiritual power with the pope at its head. 

In the course of the seventh century, the power of the 

Merovingian kings steadily declined, till, as Einhard, the 

biographer of Charlemagne, says, " There was nothing g^^ «, 

left for the king to do but to be content with his mayors of 

flowing hair and long beard, and to sit on the throne ^ ^^ ^^^ 
-, -, _^^ - T - . Einhard, 

and play the ruler. . . . He had nothing that he Charie- 

could call his own beyond the vain title of king and magne, i. 
the precarious support allowed him by the mayor of the 
palace." In all the divisions and reunions of the kingdom 
which mark these years, one line of geographical cleavage 
tends constantly to reappear : a line running along the Vosges 
Mountains west of the Rhine. In these early times the signifi- 
cance of the boundary was hardly perceived, but in later cen- 
turies it gradually came to be regarded as the frontier between 
two great nations, the Germans and the French, and to-day is 
approximately the boundary between France and Germany. 

While the authority of the king declined, the power of the 
chief minister of the kingdom, the mayor of the palace, steadily 

became Grreater and crreater. At first the minister was an ^^„ ^ , 
^ ^ 502. Early 

appointee of the king, but in course of time the office Carolin- 
became hereditary in one family. In the kingdom of the gians 

eastern Franks, called Austrasia, the mayor of the palace was 
chosen from the family of the Carolingians. 



494 



THE TRANSITION 



The first great representative of this family was Pepin of 
Landen, mayor of the palace in the second quarter of the 
seventh century. When he died, he was succeeded by his son 
Grimoald, who thought that the time had already come to set 
aside the Merovingiaai kings; but the Frankish nobles were 
not ready for such a change, and Grimoald paid for his mis- 
take with his life. The next mayor of the palace was Pepin 
of Heristal, whose greatest merit lies in the fact that he 
reunited the kingdoms of the eastern and the western Franks. 
His successor was his son Charles, known from his military, 
prowess as Martel (the Hammer), whose fame rests upon the 
fact that he rolled back the tide of Mohammedan invasion 
which threatened in his time to overwhelm all Europe. 




Mohammedan Power in 750. 

While Europe was still in the throes of transition from 
ancient to mediaeval civilization, there suddenly grew up in 
503. The southwestern Asia a great world power, the empire of 
dL°n t^a-^ the Mohammedan Arabians. In 571 there was born in 
sion the city of Mecca a man named Mohammed. In early 

manhood a merchant, as time went by he conceived of him- 
self as a new prophet of God and the founder of a new 
religion. In 622 he was forced to flee from Mecca to Medina, 
and from that time on his power increased till almost all of 
Arabia acknowledged him as the prophet of God and the 
founder of a new semireligious empire. His doctrines were 
incorporated in the Koran, the Bible of the Mohammedans. 



PAPACY AND MEDIEVAL EMPIRE 



495 



After the death of Mohammed, in 632 a.d., the power of the 
Mohammedans spread rapidly throughout Asia; the Persian 
empire was completely overwhelmed, and at one time even the 
existence of the Eastern Koman Empire Avas threatened. But 
the conquerors were repulsed and driven back from Constanti- 
nople by the Emperor Leo III. (717-741), whose chief fame 
rests upon his strenuous 
warfare against those who 
advocated the use of im- 
ages in the service of 
the church. From this 
fight, he and his followers 
became known as the Icon- 
oclasts or image-breakers. 
Though the iconoclasts 
were temporarily success- 
ful, the use of images 
was again introduced into 
the eastern church by the 
empress Irene, who ruled 
at Constantinople toward 
the end of the century. 

Checked in their prog- 
ress toward Europe in the 
east, the Mohammedans next turned south into Egypt, and in 
the course of a half century conquered the entire southern 
Mediterranean shore. In 711 they crossed into Spain, and 
within a few years made themselves masters of the peninsula. 
In 721 they crossed the Pyrenees into Aquitaine ; here they 
were checked for a time, but eleven years later they came again 
and advanced north almost to the banks of the Loire. By this 
time Charles Martel, mayor of the palace for the entire Frank- 
ish realm, was ready; in a desperate battle, known as the battle 
of Tours (732 a.d.), the Arabs were defeated and forced to 




Moorish Gate, Toledo, Spain. 



496 THE TRANSITION 

retire south of the Pyrenees, and thus was central Europe 
saved from their domination. Still the empire of the Moham- 
medans, known as the Caliphate, from the title of its rulers, 
extended from India to the Atlantic Ocean, and it was only 
when this empire broke up into a number of smaller kingdoms 
that it ceased to be a menace to the people of central Europe. 

Charles Martel was followed by his two sons, Pepin and 
Carloman ; but Carloman soon renounced the cares of state and 
504. Pepin, retired into a monastery, and thus Pepin became sole 
Franks ^ r^^ler of the kingdom. From the beginning of his 
(752 A.D.) reign, he felt that his position was anomalous : while 
he practically exercised all the powers of king, in name he 
was only a chief minister. To remedy this anomaly, he 
appealed to the pope to sanction the deposition of the Mero- 
vingian king, so that he might assume the royal title. The 
pope gladly gave his consent ; for just at that time his power 
in Italy was seriously threatened by Aistulf, the Lombard king, 
— according to the papal chronicles, a very child of the devil. 
Accordingly, in 752, Pepin became king of the Franks. 

The cordial relations established wdth the pope soon bore 
fruit. In 751 Aistulf had attacked and taken Kavenna, ending 
forever the power of the eastern emperors in the west; the 
next year and the year following, he laid siege to Eome, and 
the pope in his desperation resolved to journey into Gaul 
to ask the Frank personally for aid. Pepin, who had just 
assumed the Prankish crown by the favor of the pope, could 
not do less than comply ; in 755 and again in 756, he crossed 
the Alps into Italy, and compelled Aistulf to relinquish his 
attack upon the city of Rome, and to give up all the cities 
which he had conquered to the Prankish king. 

These cities, for the most part, lay along the eastern coast 

, of Italy; and since Pepin had no ambition to become a 

tion of ruler of lands beyond the Alps, he bestowed all the cities 

®^^^ upon the pope as a temporal lord. The importance of 



PAPACY AND MEDI/EVAL EMPIRE 



497 




Wm^ 
«i#i^ 



iiS^i 






The Iron Crown of the Lombards. 






ing of the 

mediaeval 

empire 

(800 A.D.) 

Elnhard, 
Charle- 
magne, XV. 



this gift was enormous : in the first place, it cemented the alli- 
ance between the papacy and the Franks, and led a generation 
later to the foundation of the mediaeval empire ; in the second 
place, it laid the real foundations for the temporal power of the 
papacy, and thus involved the Eoman bishops, who up to this 
time had been only spiritual leaders, in the fierce political 
strife which marks the entire course of the Middle Ages. 

In 768 Pepin was succeeded by his son Charles, commonly 
known as Charlemagne, the greatest figure among all the men 

of German race whom 506. Found- 
we have yet encoun- 
tered ; for he was war- 
rior, statesman, organ- 
izer, and king, all in 
one. " Great and 
powerful as was the realm 
of the Franks which Charles 
received from his father 
Pepin," says Einhard, "he 
nevertheless so splendidly 
enlarged it by his wars, that he almost doubled its dimensions." 
During his reign he conquered the Saxons, a wild Germanic 
people to the east, and finally reduced the Lombards to sub- 
mission, assuming as his own their iron crown which is said to 
have been fashioned out of a nail of the True Cross. Further- 
more he fought with the Saracens (the Mohammedans of 
Spain), and though once badly defeated at Roncesvalles, he 
succeeded in securing for himself a strip of territory south of 
the Pyrenees, known as the Spanish March. 

The greatest achievement of Charlemagne, however, was the 
founding of the mediaeval empire. After a brief misunder- 
standing with the papacy, Charlemagne renewed the friendly 
relations with the pope, and in 774 marched into Italy and 
put an end forever to the Lombard kingdom, which was again 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 30 



•-d -a ») -» 2 £ -?— 




i^- y=i i^ 

I I ^1 \r\ 







4 ii t f- J 



4U8 




PAPACY AND MEDIEVAL EMPIRE 499 

harassing the papacy. Twenty-six years later he came again, 
and this time he put an end to the internal strife which was 
distracting the Roman church. 

As a reward, on Christmas day, in the year 800, he was 
crowned by the pope as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. 
As he knelt at the altar to receive the crown, the crowd in the 
church shouted, "■ Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, 
the magnificent, the bringer of peace, who has been crowned 
emperor by God." " Tn. that shout, echoed by the Franks 
without, was pronounced the union, so long in prepara- Bnjce, Holy 
tion, so mighty in its consequences, of the Roman and Roman 

the Teuton, of the memories and the civilization of the ch. iv. 

south with the fresh energy of the north, and from that 
moment modern history begins." 

Though the actual circumstances under which the corona- 
tion took place were probably a surprise to Charlemagne, the 

event was long foreshadowed. From the day when _.„ „. .^ 
^ -^507. Sigmfi- 

Odoacer deposed Romulus, more than three hundred cance of the 
years before, the idea of a revival of the empire had °°^°^^ i°^ 
never been absent from men's minds ; the evidences of Roman 
power, such as the almost indestructible buildings and public 
works, and the remains of Roman institutions, had been con- 
stantly before the eyes of the Germans; and in all those 
centuries the idea had been cherished that sometime the old 
Roman empire should be renewed. Men thought that at last 
the desired goal had been reached. 

Had they only known it, the new empire was a far different 
institution from the ancient empire. The crowning of Charle- 
magne was an attempt to revive the old Roman empire ; but 
in all its essentials, the Holy Roman Empire was new. It 
lacked almost entirely the machinery by which the ancient 
empire had administered its affairs; and, what is far more 
important, its ideals were entirely different; the old empire 
had rested upon Roman ideas and Roman traditions, it had 



500 



THE TRANSITION 



grown gradually as the result of centuries of conquest; the 
new empire was thoroughly German, its inhabitants were 
almost all Germans, its system of law was German, and its 
ruler had not a trace of Eoman blood. Still, the new empire 



Bq ^^ Lincoln 

J OF TH 




Charlemagne's Empire. 



revived in men's minds all the glories of the past, and kept 
alive the mighty traditions of the invaluable civilization which 
Rome had created ; and thus was forged the link betw"een 
the ancient and the modern world. 



In the centuries after the death of Constantine, the cliurches 

of the east and of the west gradually drew 'apart, till by the 

508. Sum- beginning of the Middle Ages they v^ere pursuing dif- 

mary ferent paths. In the west, the church at Rome was 

recognized as the spiritual head of all the world ; this spiritual 



PAPACY AND MEDIEVAL EMPIRE 



501 



monarchy, which the acknowledgment of the primacy of the 
church of E.ome implied, is one of the two primary institutions 
of the Middle Ages ; the other is the Holy Roman Empire. 

In the Frank ish realm, the greatest of the new Germanic 
kingdoms, the power of the Merovingian kings was gradually 
diverted into the hands of 
the Carolingian mayors of 
the palace. The Carolin- 
gians furnished four rulers 
whose names would grace 
the annals of any period of 
history. Each one contrib- 
uted his share toward the 
upbuilding of the Frankish 
power. Pepin of Heristal, 
the first, united under his 
sole authority the entire 
kingdom ; Charles Martel 
rolled back the tide of Mo- 
liammedan invasion; Pep- 
in, his son, the first of the 
Carol ingians to bear the ti- 
tle king, still further united 
the kingdom-, and cemented 
the alliance with the Roman 
papacy ; and Charlemagne, 

the fourth and greatest of them all, after thirty-two years of 
continuous war, revived the idea of a Roman empire, and in 
doing this finally brought the two civilizations, the Roman and 
the German, into eternal harmony. With the crowning of 
Charlemagne ends the long period of anarchy and misrule that 
marked the fall of the western empire ; with the crowning of 
Charlemagne begins the new period, the period of the Middle 
Ages. 




Charlemagne. 

Mosaic in the Lateran, Rome ; probably the 
nearest likeness of him in existence. 



502 



THE TRANSITION 



Suggestive 
topics 



Search 
topics 



Geography 



Modern 
authorities 



Sources 



Illustrative 
work 



TOPICS 

(1) Why did the church divide into eastern and western parts, 
and not into northern and southern ? (2) Enumerate the steps 
in the growth of a patriarchate. (3) Compare the mayor of the 
palace with the British prime minister. (4) To what race do 
the Arabians belong ? What other religion has that race con- 
tributed to our civilization ? (5) If the Mohammedans had con- 
quered at Tours, would western Europe be in the same state as 
Turkey to-day ? (6) Who represented the eastern emperors in 
the west ? (^7) What is meant by the temporal and the spiritual 
power of the papacy ? (8) Why was the new empire called 
" Holy " ? (9) What great insiitution in the Holy Roman Empire 
was absent in the old Roman empire ? 

(10) What are the present relations of the Roman and Greek 
churches ? (11) The old St. Peter's Church at Rome. (12) The 
character of Mohammed. (18) The Saracens. (14) Charlemagne 
in Rome. (15) Why did the Latin tongue die out among the 
Germans ? 

REFERENCES 

See maps, pp. 470, 477, 481, 485, 500; Freeman, Historical 
Geography^ ch. v. 

Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Boman Empire (abridged by 
Wm. Smith), chs. xxvi.-xxviii. ; Bury, History of the Later Roman 
Empire, bk. v. chs. vi.-xiv., bk. vi. ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of 
the Boman Empire (unabridged), chs. xlix.-lii. ; Hodgkin, Italy 
and her Invaders, VII. YIII. ; Oman, Europe, 47G-91S, chs. x.- 
xxii. ; Emerton, Introduction, chs. ix.-xiv. ; Bryce, Holy Boman 
Empire, chs. iv. v. ; Church, Beginnings of the Middle Ages, chs. v.- 
vii. ; Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, chs. vi. vii. ; 
Fisher, History of the Christian Church, period iv. ; Kurtz, Church 
History, I. pp. 403-550 ; Alzog, Manual of Church History, II. 
pp. 167-222; Milman, Latin Christianity, bk. iv., bk. v. ch. i. ; 
Brueck, History of the Catholic Church, II. 242-309 ; Hatch, Or- 
ganization of Early Christian Churches ; Lindsay, Evidence for 
the Papacy, pp. 91-318 ; Hodgkin, Charles the Great ; Davis, 
Charlemagne ; Oman, Art of War, bk. ii. ch, i., bk. iii. chs. i. v. 
vi. ; Sergeant, The Franks, chs. xiv.-xx. ; Freeman, History of 
the Saracens ; Oilman, The Saracens ; R. B, Smith, Mohammed 
and Mohammedanism. 

Mohammed, Koran ; Einhard, Life of Charlemagne ; New Tes- 
tament ; Laws of Charles the Great in "Translations and Re- 
prints from Original Sources of European History," vol. VI. no. 5, 

Kingsley, Tlie Hermits. 



«#«• 



A BRIEF LIST OF BOOKS 



(These books, costing about $25, are recommended for use when 
those included in the general bibliography are inaccessible.) 

I. Orient 

Lenormant and Chevallier, A 3Ianiial of the Ancient History of Modem 

the East. 2 vols. Lippincott. $5.50. Or, ' authority 

W. Boughton, History of Ancient Peoples. Putnam's. $2.00. Or, 
Philip Smith, The Ancient History of the East. Am. Book Co. 
^\J1.25. 

II. Greece 
J. B. Bury, History of Greece to Death of Alexander. Mac- Modern 

millan. .$1.90. ' authority 

Aristotle,. Athenian Constitution (E. Poste trans.). Macmillan. Sources 

$1.00. 
Herodotus, //^^-to/v'es i (Harper's Classical Series). Am. Book 

Co. 80.75. 
Thucydides, ZZ^/s^o?-?/ ^ (Harper's Classical Series). Am. Book 

Co. $0.75. 
Xenophon, Hellenica^ (Bohn Library). Macmillan. $1.00. 
Plutarch, Lives (Bohn Library). Macmillan.* $1.00. 

III. Roman Republic 

How and Leigh, History of Rome to Death of Ccesar. Longmans. Modern 
$2.00. Or, ' authority 

Evelyn S. Shuckburgh, History of Rome to Battle of Actium. 

Macmillan. .$1.75. 
Livy, Ms^or?/ o/ i?ome (Harper's Classical Series). 2 vols. Am. Sources 

Book Co. $1.50. 
Polybius, Histories (Shuckburgh trans.). Macmillan. $6.00. 
Appian, Histories (White trans.). Macmillan. $3.00. 

1 More modern but more expensive editions of these sourc-es may be 
found in the general bibliography which follows. 

503 



504 



A BRIEF LIST OF BOOKS 



Modern 
authority 



Sources 



IV. Roman Empire 
J. B. Bury, Histonj of the Boman Empire to the Death of 3Iar- 

cus Aurelius. Am. Book Co. $1.50. 
Tacitus, Annals and Histories'^ (Harper's Classical Series). 
2 vols. Am. Book Co. |1.50.- 



Modern 
authority 



V. The Transition 

Edward Gibbon, Abridged History of the Decline and Fall of the 
Boman Empire (abridged by Wm. Smith). Am. Book Co. 

$1.25. 



1 For a more modern but more expensive edition of Tacitus, see 
the general bibliography v^^hich follow^s. 



f 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 



(Titles marked with an asterisk (*) are of books that are the most 
desirable for a scliool library.) 

Abbott, E. , History of Greece. 2 vols. N.Y. 

Abbott, E., Pericles. N.Y. 1891. 

Abbott, F. F., Boman Political Institutions. Bost. 

Adams, Civilization during the 3Iiddle Ages. N.Y. 

^schylus (trans. Plumptre). N.Y. 

Allcroft, Sparta and Thebes. Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft, The Decline of Hellas. Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft, The Ilaking of Athens. Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft, The Making of the 3Ionarchy. (Rome.) Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft, The Peloponnesian War. Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft and Haydon, The Early Principate. Lond. and N.Y. 
Allcroft and Masom, History of Sicily. Lond. and N.Y. 

* Allcroft and Masom, Borne under the Oligarchs. Lond. and N.Y. 
Allies, T. W. , Formation of Christendom. 2 vols. Lond. 

Alzog, J., Manual of Universal Church History (trans. Pabisch and 

Byrne). 2 vols. Cinti. 
Ammianus Marcelliims, Boman History (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Appian, Civil Wars (trans. White). N.Y. 

* Appian, Foreign Wars (trans. White). N.Y. 
Aristophanes (trans. Frere). N.Y. 

* Aristotle, Athenian Constitution (trans. Poste). Lond. 
Arnold, Life of Hannibal. Bost. 

Arnold, Boman System of Provincial Administration. Lond. 
Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander (trans, Bohn). N.Y. 

* Augustus, Deeds (trans. Fairley). Univ. of Penn. Reprints, Phila. 
Becker, Gallus. N.Y. 

* Beesly, A. H., The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla. N.Y. 
Beesly, E. S., Catiline, Cladius, and Tiberius. Lond. 

* Boissier, Cicero and his Friends. Lond. 

* Boughton, History of Ancient Peoples. N.Y. 

* Bradley, Story of the Goths. N.Y. 

Brueck, H., History of the Catholic Church (trans. Pruente). 2 vols. N.Y. 

505 ' 



506 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHV 

Bryce, Holy Boiiwii Empire. N.Y. 

Budge, BabyVonian Life and History. Lond. 

* Bury, History of Greece. N.Y. 

tJi^Bury, History of the Later Boman Empire. 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Bury, History of the Boman Empire. N.Y. 

* Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Capes, Ages of the Antonines. N.Y. 

* Capes, Early Empire. N.Y. 

Church, A. J., Boman Life in the Days of Cicero. N.Y. 

* Church, A. J., -Story of Carthage. N.Y. 
Church, A. J., Story of the Persian War. N.Y. 
Church, R. W., Beginnings of the Middle Ages. N.Y. 
Cicero, Laws (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

Cicero, Letters (trans. Shuckburgh). 4 vols. N.Y. 
Cicero, Orations (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 
Cicero, Bepublic (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Cox, Athenian Empire. N.Y. 

* Cox, Greeks and Persians. N.Y. 

* Cox, Lives of Greek Statesmen. N.Y. 

* Curteis, Bise of the Macedonian Empire. N.Y. 

* Curtius, History of Greece. 5 vols. N.Y. 
Davis, Charlemagne. N.Y. 
Demosthenes, Orations (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

Dill, Boman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire. N.Y. 
Dodge, Cmsar. Bost. 
Dodge, Hannibal. Bost. 

* Duncker, History of Antiquity. 6 vols. Lond. 
Duruy, History of Bome. 8 vols. Bost. 

Duruy, The Middle Ages. N.Y. 
Dyer, City of Bome. Lond. 

* Einhard, Life of Charlemagne (trans. Turner). N.Y. 

* Emerton, Litroduction to the Middle Ages. Bost. 
Engelmann-Anderson, Pictorial Atlas to Homer's Hiad and Odyssey. 

N.Y. 
Euripides (trans. Bohn). N.Y. , 

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History. Lond. 
Eutropius (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Fisher, Beginnings of Christianity. N.Y. 
Fisher, History of the Christian Church. N.Y. 
Forsyth, Life of Cicero. 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Fowler, Julius Ccesar. N.Y. 

Fowler, '"'j'/ie City-State of the Greeks and the Bomans. N.Y. 

* Freeman, Historical Geography of Europe. 2 vols. N.Y, 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 507 

Freeman, History and Conquests of the Saracens. Oxford, 
Freeman, History of Federal Government in fTveece and Italy. N.Y. 

* Freeman, Story of Sicily. N.Y. 
Froude, Ccesar. N.Y. 
Gardner, A., Julian. N.Y. 

Gardner, K. A., A Handbook of Greek Sculpture. N.Y. 
Gardner, P., \ew Chapters in Greek History. N.Y. 

* Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (ed. Bury). 7 vols. 

N.Y. 
Gilbert, Constitutional Antiquities of Athens and Sparta. N.Y. 

* Gilman, Story of the Saracens. N.Y. 

Greenidge, Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. N.Y. 
Gregorovius, Emperor Hadrian. N.Y. 

* Grote, History of Greece. 12 vols. N.Y. 
Guerber, 3Iyths of Greece and Borne. N.Y. 

* Guhl and Koner, Life of the Greeks and Romans. N.Y. 
Hadley, Introduction to Roman Law. N.Y. 

Hardy, Christianity and the Roman Government. Lond. 

Harper, Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. N.Y. 

Hatch, Organization cjf the Early Christian Churches. Lond. 

* Herodotus, Histories (trans. Macaulay). 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Hodgkin, Charles the Great. N.Y. 

* Hodgkin, Dynasty of Theodosius. Oxford. 

\/ Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders. 8 vols. Oxford. 

* Hodgkin, Theodoric. N.Y. 

* Holm, History of Greece. 4 vols. N.Y. 

* Homer, Iliad (trans. Lang. Leaf, and Myers). N.Y. 

* Homer, Odyssey (trans. Butcher and Lang). N.Y. 
Horace (trans. Martin). 2 vols. N.Y. 

* How and Leigh, History of Rome. N.Y. 

* Ihne, Early Rome. N.Y. 

Ihne, History of Ro7ne. 5 vols. N.Y. 

* Inge, Society in Rome under the Ccesars. N.Y. 

* Jehh, Greek Literature (Primer), N.Y. 

* Johnston, School Atlas of Classical Geography. Lond. 
Josephus (trans. Whiston). 5 vols. N.Y. 

Justin (trans. Bohn), N.Y. 
Juvenal (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Kiepert, Atlas Antiquus. Bost. 

* Kiepert, Manual of Ancient Geography. N.Y. 
*Kingsley, The Roman and the Teuton. .N.Y. 
Kurtz, Church History. 3 vols. N.Y. 
Labberton, Historical Atlas. N.Y. 



508 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Lactantius, T'^^or/i;s (Ante-Nicene Library). 2 vols. Edinburgh. 

Lanciani, Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries. Bost. 

Lanciani, Destruction of Ancient Rome. N.Y. 

Lenormant, Beginnings of History. N.Y. 

*Lenorinant and Chevallier, Manual of Ancient History. Phila. 

Lindsay, C, Evidence for the Papacy. Lond. 

*Livy (trans. Bohn). 4 vols. N.Y. 

Lucan, Pharsalia (trans. Rowe). Lond. 

Lysias, Orations (trans. Gillies). Lond. 

McCurdy, History, Prophecy., and the Monuments. 3 vols. N.Y. 

* Mackail, Latin Literature. N;Y. 
Mahaffy, Empire of the Ptolemies. Lond. 

* Mahaffy, Social Life in Greece. Lond. 

* Mahaffy, Story of Alexander'' s Empire . N.Y. 

* Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization. N.Y. 
Marcus Aurelius, 3Ieditations (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 
Marshall, Short History of Greek Philosophy. N.Y. 

* Maspero, Dawn of Civilization. Lond. 

* Maspero, Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria. N.Y. 
Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology. Lond, 

* Maspero, Passing of the Empires. Lond. 

* Maspero, Struggle of the Nations. Lond. 
Mau, Pompeii, its Life and Art.- N.Y. 

* Merivale, History of the Romans tinder the Empire. 6 vols. N.Y. 

* Merivale, i?07?ia!/z Triumvirates. N.Y. 
Milman, History of Christianity. N.Y. 

Milmsin, History of Latin Christianity. 6 vols. Lond. 

Moeller, History of the Christian Church. 2 vols. N.Y. and Lond. 

Mohammed, The Qtir' an (trans. Palmer). Oxford. 

* Mommsen, History of Rome. 5 vols. N.Y. 
*Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire. 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Morey, Outlines of Roman Law. N.Y. 

* Morris, Hannibal. N.Y. 
Nepos (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

New England History Teachers' Association, Report on Sources in 

Schools. 
Oman, Art of War in the Middle Ages. Lond. 
*Oman, European History, 476-918. N.Y. 
Oman, History of Greece. N.Y. 
Pausanias (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 
*Fe\hiim, Outlines of Roman History. N.Y. 

* Pellison, Roman Life in Pliny's Time. Meadville. 

Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art in Ancient Egypt. 2 vols. Lond. 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 509 

PeiTOt and Chipiez, History of Art in Chaldcea and Assyria. 2 vols. 

Lond. 
Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art in Phoenicia and its Dependencies. 

2 vols. Lond. 
Persius (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Petrie, History of Egypt. 3 vols. Lond. 

Petronius, Trimalchio's Dinner (trans. H. T. Peck). N.Y. 
Plato, Dialogues (trans. Jowett). 5 vols. Oxford. 
Pliny, Letters (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

Pliny, Letters (extracts from, in Fling's Studies in Etiropean History, 
Vol. I.). Lincoln, Nebraska. 

* Ploetz, Epitome of Universal History. Bost. 

* Plutarch, Lives (trans. Bohn). 4 vols. N.Y. 

* Poly bins (trans. Shuckburgh). 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Preston and Dodge, Private Life of the Bomans. Bost. 

* Putzger, Historischer Schnl- Atlas. Leipzig. 
Quintilian (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Ragozin, Story of Assyria. N.Y. 

* Ragozin, Story of Chaldcea. N.Y. 

* Ragozin, Story of Media, Babylonia., and Persia. N.Y. 
Ramsay, The Church and the Bo'man Empire before a.d. 170. N.Y. 
Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies. 3 vols. Lond, 

\\^vi\m?,ow, History of Phoenicia. N.Y. 
Rawlinson, Story of Ancient Egypt. N.Y. 

* Rawlinson, Story of Phoenicia. N.Y. 

* Reber, History of Ancient Art. N.Y. 

Becords of the Past (ed. Sayee). New series, C vols. Lond. 

* Rogers, History of Babylonia and Assyria. 2 vols. N.Y. 

* Sallust (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Sankey, Spartan and Theban Siipremacies. N.Y, 

* Sayce, Ancient Empires of the East. N.Y. 

Sayce, Assyria; its Princes, Priests, and People. Lond. 
Sayce, Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations. Lond. 
Sayce, Egypt of the Hebrews and Herodotus. Lond. 
Seeley, Boman hnperialism. Bost. 

* Sergeant, Story of the Franks. N.Y. 

* Seyffert, Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (ed. Nettleship and San- 

dys). Lond. 

* Shuckburgh, History of Borne. N.Y, 

Simcox, History of Latin Literature. 2 vols, N.Y. 
Smith, G., History of Babylonia. Lond. 

* Smith, P., Ancient History. N.Y. 

* Smith, R. B., Carthage and the Carthaginians. Lond. 



510 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Smith, R. B,, Mohammed and Mohammedanism. N.Y. 

* Smith, R. B., Borne and Carthage. N.Y. 

Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and lloman Antiquities. 2 vols. 

Lond. 
Smith, William, Students Manual of Ancient Geography. Lond. 
Spruner-Sieglin, Atlas Antiquus. Gotha. 
Strabo, Geography (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Strachan-Davidson, Cicero. N.Y. 

* Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 

* Tacitus (trans. Church and Brodribb). N.Y. 

* Tarbell, History of Greek Art. N.Y. 

* Taylor, Constitutional and Political History of Borne. Lond. 
Thirlwall, History of Greece. 8 vols. Lond. 

Thomas, Boman Life under the Caesars. N.Y. 

* Thucydides (trans. Jowett). Oxford. 

* Tozer, Classical Geography (Primer). N.Y. 

* Translations and Beprints from the Original Sources of European 

History. Univ. Penn., Phila, 
Tsountas and Manatt, The Mycencean Age. Bost. 
Uhlhorn, Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism. N.Y. 

* Velleius Paterculus (trans. Bohn). N.Y. 
Virgil (trans. Crane). N.Y. 

Wheeler, Alexander the Great. N.Y. 

Whibley, Greek Oligarchies. N.Y. 

Whibley, Political Parties in Athens during the Peloponnesian War. 

N.Y. 
Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. 2 vols. 

Lond. 
W^ollaston, Half-Hours tm'th Muhammad. Lond. 

* Xenophon (trans. Dakyns). N.Y. 



INDEX 



Diacritic marks : a as in far ; e as in Teil ; i as in police ; u as in rude ; y as in my ; 
y as in hymn\ e, eh, as in caak., chasm ; f as in ice \ gas in gem; gas in go\ N, the 
French nasal ; § as in neios. The long and short marks used with vowels need no ex- 
planation. Single Italic letters are silent. 



Aah'mes, 25. 

A'braham, 49. 

Acan'thus, 169. 

Acarna'nia, 60. 

Acca'dians (Akkadians), 36. 

Aehfe'an League, declares war on Rome, 329. 

formed, 303, 304. 
Aehae'an Avar, 329. 
Aeha'ia, Athenian ally, 140. y 

location of, 62. 
Achil'les, 66. 
Acrop'olis, adornment of, 157-160. 

jncture of, 90. 
Ac'tium, 402. 
Adriano'ple, 465. 
Adriat'ic, 471. 
.E'dll^s, 249, 250. 
^ga'te§ Islands, 275. 

^ge'an Sea, cities of, in league with Athens, 
196. 

development along, 62. 

submission of islands in, 180. 
^gi'na, Athenian supremacy in, 140, 142. 

Athens makes war on, 119. 

dislo3-alty of, 115. 
^gospot'ami, 179. 
^ne'id (Virgil), 440, 441. 
^'qul, 233, 234, 238. 
Aes'€hine§, 312, 313. 
Aes'ehylus, 152, 153. 
Aetius (a-e'shi-us), 475. 
^to'lia, location of, 60. 
^to'lian League, 303, 305, 322, 323. 
Africa, Belisarius conquers, 483. 

province of, 328. 

Romans in, 273, 274, 328, 389. 

Vandals in, 468, 469, 4&S. 
Age of Per'icles, 13S-144. 
A'ger Roma'nus, 240, 266, 347. 
Agesila'us, king of Sparta, 185, 186. 

refuses treaty with Epaminondas, 189. 

saves Sparta from destruction, 190. 



A'gis II., king of Sparta, 176. 

Agis IV., king of Sparta, reforms of, 305. 

Ag'ora, 77. 

Agrarian laws, in Rome, 245, 250-251, 350-353. 

of Solon, 93. 
Agric'ola, 422. 
Agrigen'tum, siege of, 272. 
Agrip'pa, 405. 
Jis'tulf, 496. 

Akka'dians (Accadians), 36. 
Al'aric, 467, 468. 
Al'ba Lon'ga, 222, 223. 
Al'boin, 484. 
Alcse'us, 151. 
Alcibi'adt'S, joins Sparta, 175, 177. 

leader of Athenian war party, 170, 174, 178. 
Al-e-man'ni, 487. 

Alexan'der the Great, Asia Minor invaded 
by, 207, 208. 

character of, 212, 213. 

death of, 212, 296. 

division of empire of. 298, 299. 

Egypt invaded by, 208. 

India invaded by, 211. 

Macedonian supremacy under, 205-215. 

Persia invaded by, 209. 
Alexan'dria, center of world, 302, 303. 

church center, 491. 

founded, 208. 

study of science in, 315. 
Al'lia River, 237. 
Allies, Italian, 240, 266, 267, 285, 293, 362. 

at war with Rome, 363, 364. 
Alphabet, introduced into Greece, 65. 

Phoenician, 54, 56. 
Alphe'us River, 79. 
Alps, 234, 291. 
Amenem'hat, 25. 
Ammia'nus, 465. 
Am'mon, 29. 

Amphictyon'ic Council, 196, 200. 
Amphip'olis, 169, 196. 



511 



512 



INDEX 



Amphis'sa, 201. 
Amphitheater, 484. 
Amusements, Greek, 79, 80. 

Roman, 339, 434. 
Anab'asis (Xenophon), 309. 
Anarchy in Eome, 386, 414, 448. 
Anaxiia'us, 126, 127. 
An'cus Marcius (mar'shi-us), 223. 
Andronl'cus, 342. 
Angles, 469. 
Anglo-Saxons, 469. 
Annals (Tacitus), 442. 
Antal'fidas, peace of, 187. 
Antig'onus, 298, 299. 

An'tioeh, center of Greek civilization, 302, 
308. 

church center, 491. 
AntT'oehus, Athenian lieutenant, 178. 
Antiochus I. (Soter), agreement with Philip, 
320. 

war with Rome, 323, 321. 
Antip'ater, 206, 297, 298. 
Antiquity of man, 11, 
Antonl'nus Pius, 427, 428. 
An'tony, Mark (Antonius, Marcus), 398-403. 
A'nu, Babylonian god, 42. 
Ap'ennlneg. 218, 219. 
Aphrodi'te, 315, 316, 318, 337. 
Apol'lo, oracle of, at Delphi, 61, 79, 81, 103, 
120. 

temple of, at Delos, 133. 
Ap'pian, historian of Rome, 310. 
Appian Way (Via Appia), 267. 
Ap'pius Clau'dius, 247, 248. 
Apu'lia, Hannibal in, 285. 

Roman alliance with, 257. 

Sabellians conquer, 255. 
A'quiB Sex'tite, 361. 
Aqueducts, Roman, 344. 
Aquile'ia, 471. 
Aquitaine', 495. 
Arabians, 494, 495. 
Ara'tus, 804, 305. 
Arbe'la, 209. 
Arca'dia, 61. 
Arca'dian League, 190. 
Arca'dius, 466, 467. 
Archbishops, 491. 
Arehida'mus, 165. 
Architecture, Athenian, 156-160. 

Babylonian and Assyrian, 43, 44. 

Egyptian, 25, 32, 33. 

Etruscan, 221. 

Hebrew, 50. 

Hellenic, in Asiatic cities, 302. 

Phoenician, 54. 

Roman, 343, 844, 408, 437. 
Ar'€hon, 88, 150. 
Ar'ehon Epo'nymos, 88. 



Areop'agus, council of, 88, 149. 

A'reg, 226, 337. . 

Arginu'sa^, 178. 

A r 'give League, 170, 171. 

Ar'golis, 62, 75. 

Argonau'tic expedition, 66. 

Ar'gos, Athenian ally, 138, 140. 

disloyalty of, 115. 

independence of, 78. 

Sparta opi)osed by, 170. 
Arim'inum, 387. 
Aristag'oras, 109, 110. 

Aristi'deg, building of Athenian navy op 
posed by, 119, 120. 

captain of Athenian fleet, 181. 

character of, 118. 

organizes Delian Confederacy, 133. 
Aristocracy, in Athens, 88, 149. 

in Rome, 227, 243, 253, 846. 

in Sparta, 87. 

See also Nobles. 
Aristoph'anes, 154. 
Ar'istotle, 314. 
Ar'ius, 462. 
Arme'nia, 424. 
Army, Assyrian and Babylonian, 41, 42. 

Carthaginian, 269. 

Egyptian, 30. 

Greek, 76, 78, 148, 189. 

Macedonian, 195, 196. 

Roman, 230, 284-236, 410, 411, 414, 458, 4T8, 
Ar'no River, 219. 
Arpi'num, 377. 
Art, Babylonian-Assyrian, 48^5. 

Egyptian, 32, 38. 

Etruscan, 221. 

Greek, 156-160, 301, 307, 315, 316. 

Ionian, 102. 

Persian, examples of, 104, 106, 114, 209. 

Roman, .343. 

See also Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, 
Artapher'niis, 115, 116. 
Artaxerx'es, 185, 187. 
Artemis'ium (-mish-ium), 121. 
Aryan race, 12, 16. 
As'culum, 263. 
Ash'taroth (Istar), 48. 
Asia, civilization in, 14. 

geography of, 18-18. 

kingdom of, 320. 

province of, 330, 366. 
Asia Minor, Alexander's conquest of, 207. 

art in, 102, 816. 

civilization in, 102, 808. 

Darius master of. 111. 

division of, 299. 

first Roman province in, 330. 

Greek conquest of. 64. 

Mithridatic war in, 865. 



INDEX 



613 



Asia Minor {Continued). 

Philip's war witli, 820. 

Eoman alliances in, 324. 

"Royal Road" in, 17. 

See (ilso Ionia. 
Assemblies, Athenian, 94, 149, 150. 

Homeric, 68. 

Roman, 228-231, 242, 243, 245. 

Spartan, 77. 
Assurban'ipal, 39. 
Assurna'zirpal, 38. 
Assyr'ia, 37-47. 

destruction of, 40, 104. 
Assyrians, Egypt invaded by, 28. 

Phoenicia devastated by, 53. 
Astrology, in Babylonia, 43. 
Astronomy, in Alexandria, 315. 

in Babylonia, 45. 
At'aulf, 46S, 471. 
Athana'sius (-shi-us), 462. 
Athe'ne, 74, 158, 337. 
Ath'ens, art in, 156-160, 301, 307, 315-318. 

Boeotian wars with, 139. 

classes in, 94. 

development, early, 87-99. 

development of empire, 130-137. 

empire ended, 173-182. 

founding of, 74. 

intellectual hfe from 400 to 200 B.C., 307-316. 

Lamian war, 297, 298. 

literature of, 151-156, 308-315. 

Macedonia, contest with, 196-204. 

maritime power of, 120, 133, 187. 

Mithridatic revolt, 365. 

parties in, 187. 

Peloponnesian war, 163-172, 177-180. 

Periclean age, 138-161. 

Persian wars with, 110, 116-125. 

plague in, 166. 

rebuilt, 130. 

Sicilian expedition, 173-176. 

Spartan wars with, 99, 139, 142, 163-172, 
177-180, 186-189. 

supremacy of, 140. 

Theban alliances with, 186, 188, 189, 201. 

Thirty Tyrants in, 183, 184. 
At'tica, location of, 61. 

Persians ravage, 124. 

unification of, 74, 75. 
At'tila, 471, 472. 
Au'fidus River, 286. 
Augurs, 226. 
Augus'ti, 458. 
Angus 'tine, Saint (apostle of Anglo-Saxons), 

469. 
Augustine, Saint (father of Latin church), 461. 
Angus 'tulus Rom'ulus, 475, 476. 
Angus 'tus, first Roman emperor, 898-408. 
Aure'lian, 447. 

WOLF. ANC. HIST. 31 



Aure'lius, Marcus, 452. 
Austra'sia (-shi-a), 493. 
Av'entine hill, 225. 

Bab'ylon, Alexander's conquest of, 209, 211. 

center of trade, 302. 

destruction of, 39, 

rebuilt, 40. 
Babylo'nia. 36-47. 
Bac'€hus, 337. 
Baluchistan', 211. 
Bel, Babylonian god, 42. 
Belisa'rius, 483. 
Beneven'tum, 265, 485. 
Bengal', Bay of, 16. 
Bi'as of Pri'e'ne, 106. 
Bishops, 490-492. 
Bithyn'ia, 375, 451. 
Boeotia (be-o' shi-a), alliance with Athens, 139. 

alliance with Sparta, 170. 

location of, 61. 

war with Athens, 139. 
Boeotian League, 73, 74. 
Bono'nia (Bologna), 400. 
Bos'porus, 81. 
Brah'mins, 16. 
Bras'idas, 169. 
Bren'nus, 287. 
Bridges, Roman, 344. 
Britain, Germans invade, 469. 

Roman province in, 413, 422. 
Brundis'ium (-dish-ium), 366. 
Brut'tium, 290-292, 373. 
Bru tus, Marcus, 392, 401. 
Burgun'dians, 487. 
Bur'rhus, 418. 
Busen'to, 468. 

Byzan'tium (-shi-um), capital of Roman 
empire, 460; see Constantinople. 

Philip's effort to annex, 201. 
• Spartans take, 131. 

Ca'diz (Gades), 51. 
Cadme'a, ISS, 204. 
Cad'mus, 65, 74. 
Cse'sar, Gains Julius, 380-394. 

writings of, 439. 
Cfesars, 45S. 

Calendar, Babylonian, 43. 
Calig'ula, 411. 
Cal'iphate, 496. 
Callira'aehus, 117. 
Cambu'nian Mountains, 60. 
Camby'seg, 28, 107. 
Camil'lus, Marcus Furius, 288. 
Campa'nia, 239, 255. 
Cam'pus Mar'tius (-shi-us), 433. 
Ca'naan, 49. 
Can'nae, 286, 287. 



514 



INDEX 



Canule'ian law, 248. 

Cap'itoline hill, 225. 

Ca'prea?, 410. 

Cap'ua, gladiatorial school in, 873. 

revolt of, 288. 

Romans capture, 239, 289. 
Ca'ria, 186, 187. 
Car'loman, 496. 
Carolingians, 493-500. 
Car'rhiB, 385. 
Car'thage, destruction of, 326, 327. 

Etruscans attacked by, 234. 

Greeks invade territory of, 83-84. 

growth of power of, 269, 270, 326. 

Punic wars, 270-277, 283-293, 327. 

Sicily invaded by, 126, 127, 263, 264. 

Sicily relinquished by, 276. 

Spanish wars, 282-284, 290. 

supremacy of, 56. 

trade of, 53, 269. 
Caryat'i-de§, 159. 
Carys'tus, 116. 
Cassan'der, 299. 

Cassius (kash'i-us). Gains, 392, 401. 
Cassius, Spu'rius, 233. 245. 
Castes, in India, 16. 
Cat'acombs, 451. 

Cat'i-line, Lucius Sergius, 377, 378. 
Ca'to, Marcus Porcius, the Elder, advocates 
destruction of Carthage, 327. 

life of, 334. 

works of, 343. 
Cato, Marcus Porcius, the Younger, 386, 

390. 
Catul'lus, 439, 440. 
Cat'ulus, 361. 

Cauca'sian (-shan) races, 12. 
Cau'din6 Forks, 258, 259. 
^e 'crops, 74. 
Celtic church, 469. 
Censors, 249, 250, 374. 
Central Greece, Athens loses control of, 142. 

fight for, 139. 

geography of, 60, 61. 

Thermopylae gateway to, 121. 
Centuries, in Roman army, 230. 
-Ghaerone'a, 142, 202. 
-€hal§G'don, 83. 
-Ghalgid'ian Confederacy, 187. 
•€halfid'i-ge, geography of, 83, 194. 

Persian fleet destroyed off, 114. 

Philip, master of, 196, 199, 200. 

Spartans in, 169. 
•Chal'gis, 83. 
-ehaldse'a, 36, 37. 
ChaloNs' (sha ), 471. 
Champollion (shoN-pol-yoN'), 28. 
Chariot races, 434. 
Charioteers in Assyria and Babyloaia, 41 . 



Charioteers in Egypt, SO. 
Char'iema^ne, 497-501. 
Charles Martel', 494, 495. 
Che 'ops or Khu'fu, 24, 25. 
Chersone'sus, 111. 
China, 14. 
-Chi'os, alliance with Athens, 140, 165. 

alliance with Sparta, 177. 

nominal independence of, 140. 
-Ghi'ton, 145. 
Christ, Jesus, 448. 
Christianity, Anglo-Saxons converted to, 469. 

creed of Athanasius, 402. 

growth of church organization, 490, 491. 

growth of Roman papacy, 492, 493. 

official religion of Rome, 461. 

persecutions, 414, 450-454. 

spread of, 448, 454, 461. 

two churches, 490. 
Chronology, 13. 
Chrys'ostom, 461. 
Church, see Christianity. 
Cife'ro, Marcus Tullius, consul, 377. 

death of, 400. 

defeats Catiline's conspiracy, 378. 

leader republican party, 398, 899, 

works of, 438, 439. 
Cilicia (si-lish'i-a), 375, 376. 
Cim'bri, 861. 
Cimin'ian Forest, 259. 
Ci'mon, campaigns of, 1.33, 184. 

captain Athenian fleet, 131. 

death of, 141. 

leader conservative party, 185. 

patron of art, 156, 157. 

policy of, 138. 

ostracized, 136. 

recalled, 140. 
Cin'e-as, 263. 
Cin'na, 366. 

Qisal'pine Gaul, see Gaul, Cisalpine. 
Citizenship, Athenian, 149. 

Roman, 239, 265, 266, 362-364, 392, 413, 457. 
City-state, 73, 246. 
Ci'ves Roma'ni, 266. 
Ci'ves si'ne suff'ra'gio, 266. 
Civic pride, Roman, .333. 
Civil service in China, 14. 
Civil war in Rome, era of, 364-408. 
Civi'lis, 419. 
Civilization, of Assyrians, 41, 

of Athens, early, 74, 88-94. 

of Babylonians, 37, 41, 46. 

of China, 14. 

of Egypt, 18, 25, 29, 32, 84. 

of Etruscans, 221, 223. 

of Germans, 463, 464. 

of Greeks after Peloponnesian war, 307- 
318. 



INDEX 



515 



Civilization {Continued). 

of Greeks, early,62-65, 68-70. 

of Greeks in age of Pericles, 145-149. 

of Greeks in East, 102, 214, 301-303, 308. 

of Huns, 471. 

of Orient, 213, 214. 

of Persia and Greece contrasted, 125, 120. 

of Piioenicians, 55, 56. 

of Roman provinces, 277, 278, 348, 408, 409. 

of Rome, 225, 227, 248, 334-342, 431-434. 

of Sparta, early, 75-79. 

of Sumerians, 36. 

of Syria, 308. 
Civita'tes foedera'ti, 267. 
Classes in Athens, 94. 

in-Ijidia, 16. 

in Ronmn conquered territory, 265, 266. 

in Rome, 237. 

in Sparta, 76. 
Clau'dius, Ap'pius, 247, 248. 
Claudius, emperor, 411. 
Claudius, Publius, 274. 
Clazom'enae, 187. 
Cleom'brotus, 189. 
Cleom'ene§, 305. 
Cle'on, 167-170. 
Cleopfi'tra, 401-403. 
Clients, in Rome, 227-229. 
Climate, of Asiatic steppes, 13. 

of Greece, 145. 

of Italy, 219. 

of Nile Valley, 18. 
Clis'thene§, 98, 99. 
Clo-a'ca Max'ima, 232. 
Clo'dius, 386. 
Clothing, see Dress. 
Clo'vis, 486, 487. 
Clusium (clu'zhi-um), 236, 237. 
(7ni'dus, 186. 
Code (Tribonian), 483. 
Codification of law, Athenian, 91. 

Roman, 246, 247, 443, 483. 
Colise'um (Colosseum), 420, 421. 
Col'line gate, 367. 

Colonization, Greek, 80-Si, 95, 126, 127, 221, 
283. 

Phoenician, 51, 53, 55, 269. 

Roman, -234, 238, 240, 279, 855, 356, 392, 
423. 

under Alexander, 214. 
Colosse'um (Coliseum"), 420, 421. 
Colos'sus of Rhodes, 316. 
Comedy, Greek, 154, 308. 

Roman, 841,342. 
Comit'ia Centuria'ta, control of elections, 
249. 

decrees of, 247. 

function of, 230. 

growing influence of, 243. 



Comit'ia Curia'ta, function of, 229, 230. 

loss of power of, 242, 243. 
Comit'ia Tribu'ta Ple'bis, decrees of, 247. 

function of, 245. 
Commerce, see Trade. 
Commercial class in Athens, 88, 89. 
Com 'modus, 447. 
Commoners in Athens, 93, 94. 

in Homeric age, 68. 

in Rome, see Plebeians. 
"Companions," The, 195. 
Confederacy, Chalcidian, 187. 

Delian, 133-135, 143, 163, 164, 196. 
Confederation, Latin, 222, 223, 233, 239, 240. 
Confu'cius (-she-us), 14. 
Co'non, 186, 187. 

Con' Stan tine, the Great, 459, 462, 492. 
Constantino 'pie, capital Roman empire, 460, 
492. 6 

church center, 491. 

Mohammedans driven from, 495. 

Roman traditions in, 479. 

Visigoths besiege, 465. 
Constan'tius (-shi-us), son of Constantino, 

462. 
Constantius-Chlo'rus, 453, 454, 459. 
Consuls, 242, 258, 368. 
Corfy'ra, sedition of, 168. 

war with Corinth, 164. 
Cor'dova, 314. 
Cor'inth, Achaean League joined by, 304. 

and Athens, 138, 139, 180, 186. 

council at, 120, 204. 

destruction of, 329. 

location of, 61. 

Peloponnesian war caused by, 164, 165. 

supremacy of, 95, 96. 
Corn laws, 354, 856. 
Corne'lia, 3.51. 
Cor'sica, 277. 
Courts, Athenian, 94, 150. 

Roman, 350, 355, 374. 
Cras'sus, Marcus Licin'ius, in first triumvi- 
rate, 380. 

in gladiatorial war, 373, 374. 

proconsul of Syria, 384, 385. 
Crete, center early Greek civilization, 64. 

Phoenicians in, 51. 

Pompey conquers, 375. 
Crime 'a, 83. 
Crit'ias, 188, 184. 
Crce'sus, 103-105. 
Cu'mae, 83, 884. 
Cunax'a, 185, 809. 
Cune'iform writing, 45, 
Cu'rise, 228, 229. 
Cu'rio, 388. 
Customs and manners, of Germans, 468, 464. 

of Greeks, early, 62-65, 68-70. 



516 



INDEX 



Customs and manners, (ConUnued). 

of Greeks in Periclean age, 145-149. 

of Huns, 471. 

of Romans, 225-22T, 248, 334-342, 431- 
434. 

of Spartans, 75-79, 

See also Civilization. 
Cyb'ele, 337. 
Cy'lon, 89, 91. 
Cynosfeph'alae, 191, 321. 
Cy'prus, Athenian expedition against, 141. 

Pausanias attacks, 131. 

Persia claims, 187. 

Phoenicians in, 51. 
Cypsel'idai, 95. 
Cyp'selus, 95. 
Cyrena'ica, 328. 
Cyre'ne, 84. 

Cy'rus. %e Great, 41, 104-107. 
Cyrus, the Younger, 178, 185. 
Cythe'ra, 169. 

Dacia (da'shi-a), Eoman province, 423, 
424. 

Visigoths in, 464, 465. 
Dae'dalus, 66. 
Damas'cus, 302. 
Dardanelles', 81. 
Dari'us I., "death of, 120. 

expeditions against Greece, 114-117. 

Ionia conquered by, 107-111, 
Darius III., 207-211. 
Da'tis, 115, 116. 
David, 49. 
Deacons, 490. 
Debt, in Athens, 91-93. 

in Rome, 244, 251. 
Dee'archies, 183, 187, 
De?ele'a, 176. 
Decem'viri, 246, 247. 
Decius (de'shi-us), 452. 
Dela'tions, 410, 422. 

De'lian Confederacy, Melos forced to join, 
173. 

organized, 133. 

Peloponnesian League contrasted with, 
143, 162-164. 

transformed into Athenian empire, 134, 135. 
De'los, 133, 350. 
Del'phi, oracle at, 61, 79, 81, 103, 120. 

picture of, 197. 

temple at, 98, 122. 



Deme'trius, 298, 299. 

Democracy, Athenian, 98, 99, 149, 163, 167. 

Demons, in Babylonian and Assyrian re- 
ligion, 42. 

Demos'thene§ (Athenian general), 168, 169, 
176. 



Demosthenes (orator), death of, 298. 

exile of, 297. 

opposition to Philip, 198-201. 

orations of, 312, 313. 
Demot'ic writing, 28. 
De Ke'rum Natu'ra (Lucretius), 439. 
Dictator, 242, 891. 
Digest (Tribonian), 483. 
Di'ocese, in church, 491. 

in em[)ire, 460. 
Diocle'tian (-shan), 453, 459. 
Diodo'rus, 310. 
Dionys'ius (-nish'i-us), 263. 
Diony'sus, 316. 

Domitian (do-mish'i-an), 421, 422, 451. 
Do'riaus, Greece invaded by, 70, 71. 

highest class in Sparta, 76. 

settle in Italy, 83. 
Do'ris, 139. 
Dra'co, 91, 
Drama, Greek, 152-154, 308, 

Roman, 342. 
Drep'anum, 274, 275. 
Dress, of Germans, 463, 

of Greeks, 145, 

of Romans, 338. 
Dru'sus, Marcus Liv'ius, 356, 
Drusus, Marcus Livius, the Younger, 363. 
Drusus, stepson of Augustus, 406, 
Du-il'ius, 273. 
Dyrr^a'ehium, 389. 

E'a, Babylonian god, 42, 

Eastern church, 490. 

Eastern Roman empu-e, 479, 480, 482-486, 

495. 
E'bro River, 282. 
Eccle'gia, function of, 150, 151, 179. 

power of ostracism, 99. 

Thetes admitted to, 94. 
Ec'logues (Virgil), 441. 
Ec'nomus, 273. 
Edictof Milan, 461. 
Education, Egyptian, 81. 

Greek, 77, 78, 146, 147. 

Eoman, 340, 341, 
Egypt, 24-35. 

Alexander's conquest of, 208. 

Assyrian conquest of, 28, 39. 

Caesar in, 390. 

geography of, 18, 

Greek culture in, 301. 

Mohammedan conquests in, 495. 

Persian war with, 120, 139, 140. 

Ptolemies in, 319. 
Ein'hard, 493. 
E-i'on, 133. 
E'lamites, 36. 
Ela-te'a, 201. 



INDEX 



617 



Elder, presiding, 490. 
Elephants, in battle, 262, 265. 
E'lis, 61. 

Embalming, Egyptian, 31, 32. 
Emperor, Koman, 404, 405, 432. 
Empo'rlse, 2S3. 
Epaminon'das, 188-192. 
Eph'esus, battle of, 110. 

Lydians capture, 103. 

trade in, 102, 301. 
Ephiarte§, 135-138. 
Eph'ors, 76. 
Epicure 'ans, 315. 
Epidam'nus, 164. 
Epi'rus, 262. 

Eq'ui-te§ (knights), 355, 368. 
Eratos'theneg, 315. 
Ere'te, Mount, 274. 
Ereehthe'ura, 159. 
Ere'tria, S3, 116. 
E'ryx, Mount, 274. 
Esarhad'don, 39. 
Ethiopian invasion of Egypt, 28. 
Etru'ria, 236, 237. 
Etrus'cans, civilization of, 221, 223. 

Gauls attack, 234. 

home of. 220, 221. 

in third Samnite war, 260. 

Romans defeat, 238, 259, 260. 

Eome threatened by, 233. 
Euboe'a, Athens retains supremacy in, 142. 

migrations from, 83. 

Persian conquest of, 116. 

revolt in, 142. 
Eu'clid, 315. 
Eudox'ia, 469. 
Euphra'teg Eiver, 17. 
Eurip'idC'g, 153, 154. 
Euro'tas River, 78. 
Eurybi'ades, 121. 
Eu'xine, 81. 
Exar'ehate of Ravenna, 484. 

Fa'bius Max'imus, Quintus, 259, 260. 
Fabius Maximus, Quintus (Cuncta'tor), 285- 

289. 
Fabius Pic'tor, 342. 
Family, Roman, 227. 
Fas'ces. 243. 
Festivals. Greek, 79, 80. 

Roman, 434. 
Finances, Athenian, 95. 

Roman, 420. 
Fla'mens of Jupiter, 226. 
Flamin'ian Way (Via Flaminia), 279. 
FlaminT'nus, T. Quinctius, 321-323. 
Flamin'ius. Gaius, 279, 285. 
Four Hundred, rule of, 177. 
Franchise, see Citizenship. 



Franks, 486, 487, 493-500. 
Freedmen, 432. 
Freemen, in Athens, 94. 

in Homeric age, 68. 

in Rome, 432-434. 
Fregel'lse, 257. 
Funerals, Roman, 339. 

Ga'de§ (Cadiz), 51. 

Gaius (ga'yus) (Caligula), 411. 

Gal'ba, 414. 

Gale'rius, 453, 454, 459. 

Gal'lia, see Gaul. 

Gallia Narbonen'sis, 380. 

Games, Olj-mpian, 79, 80. 

Roman, 339, 434. 
Gan'ges River, 14. 
Gaul, gisal'pin^, Hannibal in, 284. 

Mark Antony in, 399, 400. 

Roman conquest of, 260, 279. 

settlement of, 221. 
Gaul, Transal'pine, Franks conquer, 486. 

Greek settlements in, 84. 

Huns invade, 471. 

Roman conquest of, 380, 381, 384, 385, \ 

Vandals ravage, 468. 

Visigoths settle in, 468. 
Gauls, attack Etruscans, 234. 

devastate Thrace and Asia Minor, 299. 

home of, 221. 

Romans defeated by, 236-238. 

See also Gaul. 
Ge'lon, 126, 127. 
Gens, in Roman society, 227. 
Gen'seric, 468. 
Geography, of Asia, 13-19. 

of Assyria, 37. 

of China, 14. 

of Egypt, 18. 

of Greece, 60-62. 

of India, 14, 16. 

of Italy, 218, 219. 

of Macedonia, 194. 

of Mesopotamia, 17. 

of Roman empire, 405. 

of Rome, 222. 

of Syria, 18. 

of world known to Greeks, 19, 20. 

of world known to Romans, 20, 21. 
Geometry, 315. 
Georgics (Virgil), 441. 
Germans, as king makers, 475. 

character of, 463, 464. 

invasions of, 428. 462-469, 479^87. 

Romans conquer, 361, 406, 407. 
Gerou'si-a, 76. 
■Gi'zeh, 32. 

Gladiatorial contests, 340, 434. 
Gladiatorial war, 373, 374. 



518 



INDEX 



Glau'cia (glaw'shi-a), 362. 
Golden fleece, 66. 
Goths, origin of, 464. 

See also Ostrogoths and Visigoths. 
Government, Alexandrine, 204, 213, 214. 

of Assyi-ia and Babylonia, 41. 

of Athens, 87-99, 149-151, 176, 177, 183,311. 

of Egypt, 29, 30. 

of Germans, 464, 493. 

of Greece after Alexander's death, 297, 299. 

of Greece, early, 67, 68, 73. 

of Roman empire, 403-405, 411-413, 420, 443, 
457-460, 483. 

of Roman kingdom, 222, 228-231. 

of Roman republic, 240, 242-251, 258, 277, 
278, 346-357, 362-368, 374, 377-380, 391, 
392. 

of Sparta, 75-78, 87, 163, 183, 305. 
Governor of Roman province, 277, 278, 348, 

391, 392. 
Grac'ehus, Gains, 349, 353-356. 
Gracchus, Tiberius, 349, 351, 352. 
Grani'cus, 207. 
Gra'tian (-shi-an), 465. 
Greece. 60-193. 

Antiochus invades, 323. 

Flaraininus attempts to reinvigorate, 322, 
323. 

freedom of, ended, 329, 330. 

government of, see Government. 

Mithridates overlord of, 365. 

Rome controls government of, 325. 

Visigoths invade, 467. 

See also Athens and Sparta. 
Greek culture, dissemination of, 202, 301, 334- 

341. 
Greek ideals, change in, 307. 
Greek language, 438. 

Greek literature, 66, 67, 87, 151-156, 160, SOS- 
SIS. 
Grim'o-ald, 494. 
Gylip'pus, 176. 

Ha'drian, 426. 

Ha'lys River, 103. 

Hamil'car Bar'ca, 274, 275, 282. 

Hamil'car, Carthaginian king, 127. 

Hamit'ic race, 12. 

Han'nibal, 282-292". 

Han'no, 54. 

Har'most, 183. 

Has'drubal (Hannibal's brother-in-law), 282, 

283. 
Has'drubal (Hannibal's brother), death of, in 

Spain, 284, 288, 290, 291. 
Ha'tasu, Egyptian queen, 26. 
He'brews, 49-51. 
Her en, 66. 
Helise'a, 94, 150, 151. 



Hel'las, see Greece. 

Hel'leneg (name for Greeks), 62. 

Hellen ica (Xenophon), 309. 

Hellen'ic League, 204, 206. 

Hel'lespont, 114. 

He'lots, 76, 78, 135, 136, 190. 

Helve'tians (-shanz), invasions of, 380. 

Hen 'gist, 469. 

Heracle'a, 263. 

Her'acles (Hercules), 65, 70. 

Heracli'dfe, 70. 

Heracll us, 486. 

Hercula'neum, 421. 

Her'cu-le§ (Heracles), 65, 70. 

Her'ma?, mutilation of, 175. 

Her'mann, 407. 

Her meg, 175. 

statue of, by Praxiteles, 315. 
Her'nicT, 233. 

Herod'otus, 19, 20, 155, 156. 
Heroes, Babylonian and Assyrian, 46. 

Greek, 65-68. 
Hezeki'ah, 13. 
Hi'ero, ally of Rome, 271. 

death of, 288. 
Hieroglyph ics, 28. 
Hill party, in Athens, 94, 
Hills of Rome, 222, 225. 
Himil'la-ya Mountains, 14. 
Himafi-on, 145. 
llim'er-a, 127, 
Ilin'du castes, 16. 
Hippar'ehus, 97. 
Hip'pias, 96-99, 116. 
Hi 'ram I, 53. 
Histiie'us, 109. 
Historians, Greek, 19, 20, 155, 156, 309, 810. 

Roman, 440, 442. 
Hit't!t«?s, 26, 27. 
Holy Roman Empire, 499, 
Ho'mer, 66, 67. 
Homer'ic age, 66-71. 
Hono'rius, 466, 467. 
Hop'lit^s, 148, 
H or 'ace, 441., 
Hor'sa, 469, 

Horses, introduced into Egypt, 25, 30. 
Ho'rus, 31. 

Hospitality of Greeks, 69. 
Houses of Germans, 463. 

of Greeks, 145, 146. 

of Romans, 225, 338, 433. 
" Human 'ities," the, 315. 
Huns, 465, 470-472. 
Hyk'sog dynasty, 25, 30. 
Hyph'a-siB River, 211. 

Iberian peninsula, 84. 
See also Spain, 



INDEX 



519 



Icon'oclasts, 495. 

Ide§ of March, 393. 

Il'iad (Homer), 66, 67, 441. 

Illyr'ian war, 278. 

Illyr'icuin, Caesar defeated in, 389. 

pirates in, 278. 

Roman governor controls, 329. 

Visigoths in, 467. 
Image worship, 495. 
Im'bros, 187. 
Irapera'tor, 404. 
Im[)erial legates, 405. 
Imperial provinces, 405. 
Impe'rium, the, 229. 
In'dia, 14-17. 
In'dus River, 14, 20. 
Industries, of Babylonians and Assyrians, 46. 

of Egyptians, 83. 

of Greeks, 65, 68. 

of Greeks in Ionia, 102. 

of Phoenicians, 55. 

of Romans, 225, 349, 350. 
Institutes, the (Tribonian), 483. 
I-o'nia, conquest of, 102-113. 

independence of cities of, 196. 

lyric poets in, 151. 

migrations from, 80. 

Persian wars A\ith, 105-111, 185, 186. 

social and political conditions in, 102, 103. 
I-o'nian Sea, trade and settlements in, 83. 
Ipsam'bul, 27. 
Ip sus, 299. 

Iran', plateau of, 16, 17, 40. 
Ire'ne, empress, 495. 
I 'sis, Egyptian god, 31. 
T§' lam, 494. 
I-soc'ra-te§, 311, 812. 
I§'ra-el, kingdom of, 50. 
Is'sus, 207, 208. 
Is'tar (Ashtaroth), 43. 
Italians, migrations to Italy, 219, 220. 
Ital'icum, 363. 
Italy, Belisarius and Narses in, 483, 484. 

early inhabitants of, 219-221. 

economic condition in time of Gracchi, 219- 
221. 

economic condition under the late empire, 
478. 

geography of, 218, 219. 

German invasions of, 467-469, 479-482, 484- 
487. 

Greek colonies in, 83. 

Huns invade, 469-472. 

See also Rome. 
I'tho'mg, Mount, 135, 186. 

Ja'cob, 49. 

Ja'nus Quiri'nus, 407. 

Ja'son, 66. 



Jeru'salem, church center, 491. 

council of, 449. 

Romans capture, 419. 

temple at, 50. 
Jesus of Nazareth, 448. 
Jews, 49-51. 

gospel preached to, 448, 449. 

war with Romans, 419. 
Jon'athan, 49. 
Jorda'neg, 482, 
Jove (Jupiter), 226, 337. 
Ju'ba, 389. 

Ju'dah, kingdom of, 40, 50. 
Judicial system, in Athens, 150, 151, 811. 

in Rome, 868. 
Jugur'tha, 359-361. 
Jugur'than war, 359-361. 
Julia, daughter of Augustus, 441. 
Julia, wife of Pompey. 385. 
Ju'lian, 461-468. 
Ju'piter (Jove), 226, 387. 
Juries in Athens, 150, 151, 311. 
Jurists, 443. 
Jus'tin, 209. 
Justin 'ian, 482-485. 
Jutes, 469. 
Ju'venal, 442. 

Khu'fu or €he'ops, 24, 25. 
King Ar'ehon, 88. 
Kings, Athenian, 87. 

Babylonian and Assyrian, 41. 

Egyptian, 29-30. 

in Homeric age, 67. 

in Mycenean age. 64. 

Roman, 222-224, 228. 

Spartan, 76, 87. 
Knights (Equites), 355, 432. 
Ko'ran, 494. 

Lag-e-dae'mon, see Sparta. 

Lagin'ian Cape, 262. 

La€o'nia, 61. 

Lactan'tius (-shi-us), 453. 

La'de, 111. 

Lam'aehus, 174-176. 

La'mian War, 297, 298. 

Lands, public, of Rome, 244, 250, 251, 351. 

Language, Babylonian and Assyrian, 45. 

Chinese, 14. 

Egyptian, 28. 

Greek, 438. 

Hindu, 16. 

Latin, 488. 

Phoenician, 54. 
Laoc'oon, 816, 317. 
Lii'o-tse', 14. 
La'res and Pena'tes, 226. 
Latin colonies, 234, 238, 260, 266. 



520 



INDEX 



Latin Confederation, dissolved, 239, 240. 

reorganized, 233, 289. 

Rome head of, 222, 223. 
Latin language, 438. 
Latins, alliance with Rome, 233, 238-240. 

territory of, 220. 
Latin Wa^- (Via Latina), 267. 
Latium (la'shi-um), 220. 
Lau'rium, 120. 
Laws of Cffisar, 391, 392. 

of Clisthenes, 98, 99. 

of Draco, 91. 

of early Romans, 227-229. 

of Gracchi, 350-357. 

of Justinian, 482. 

of Licinius and Sextius, 250, 251. 

of Lycurgus, 75-78. 

of Pericles, 149-151. 

of Servius TuUius, 229-231. 

of Solon, 98, 94. 

of Sulla, 367, 868. 

of Twelve Tables, 246-248. 

See also Agrarian Laws. 
League, Achaean, 303, 304, 829. 

jEtolian, 303. 

Arcadian, 190. 

Argive, 170, 171. 

Hellenic, 204, 206. 

Peloponnesian, 78, 79, 142, 143, 163, 164, 
180. 

Plataean, 124. 
Legendary history, of Greece, 65, 66, 74, 
75. 

of Rome, 222-224. 
Legions, in Roman army, 235, 236, 262, 263, 

821. 
Legislators (Thesmothetae), in Athens, 88. 
Lem'nos, 187. 
Leo the Great, pope, 472. 
Leo III, emperor, 495. 
Leon'idas, 121. 
Leos'theneg, 198. 
Lep'idus, 872, 399-401. 
Les'bos, Athenian ally, 165. 

independence of, 140. 

revolt of, 168. 
Leiic'tra, 189. 
Levant', 53. 
Lex Canule'ia, 248. 
Lex Vale'ria, 243. 
Liberators, the, 398. 
Library, in Alexandria, 308. 

in Nineveh, 40. 
Llb'yans rule Egypt, 28. 
Liciu'ian law, 250, 251, 346, 351. 
Licin'ius, 251. 
Ligu'ria, 467. 
Lilybae'um, 274, 275. 
Li'ris River, 219. 



Literature, Alexandrian, 803. 

Babylonian and Assyrian, 40, 45, 46. 

Chinese, 14. 

Egyptian, 28, 29, 

Etruscan, 221. 

Greek, 66, 67, 87, 151-156, 160, 307-515. 

Hindu, 16. 

Phoenician, 54. 

Roman, 341, 842, 488-442, 445. 
Lives of the Twelve Caesars (Suetonius), 442. 
Liv'ius, Marcus, 291. 
Liv'y, 440. 
Lo'cri, 88. 

Lo'crians, alhance with Athens, 189. 
Loire (Iwar) River, 486. 
Lombards, and popes, 496, 497. 

Charlemagne conquers, 497. 

crown of, 497. 

invade Italy, 484, 485. 
Lom'bardy, 485. 
Lu'can, 388. 
Luca'nia, Roman alliance with, 257. 

Sabellians conquer, 255. 

Samnites invade, 260. 
Luc'ca, 384. 

Lucre'tius (-shi-us), 439. 
Lucul'lus, 375, 876. 
Lycia (lish'i-a), 140. 
Lycur'gus, 75, 76, 87. 
Lyd'ian conquest of Ionia, 103. , 
Lyric poetry, Greek, 151, 152. 

Roman, 439, 440. 
Lysan'der, commands allied fleet, 178. 

defeats Athenians, 179, 180. 

government of, 183. 

loss of power, 184, 186. 
Lys'ias, 311. 
Lysim'aehus, 299. 
Lysip'pus, 316. 

Macedo'nia, geography of, 194. 

Greek culture, efl'ect on, 801. 

Mithridates, overlord of, 865. 

republics established in, 325. 

Roman province, 829. 

Rome at war with, 820-322, 324, 325. 

settlement of, 83. 

social and political conditions in, 320. 

supremacy of, 194-203. 

Theban invasion, 190. 
Ma'cro, 411. 
Msece'nas, 405. 
Mag'na Gras'cia (-shi-a), 94. 
Magne'sia (-shi-a), 324. 
Mahom'et (Mohammed), 494. 
Mam'ertines, 270, 271. 
Man'etho, 26. 

Man'iples, in Roman army, 236. 
Manners, see Customs. 



INDEX 



521 



Mantin-e'a, battle of, 171, 191. 

destroyed, 187. 

walls rebuilt, 190. 
Mar'athon, 116-118. 
Marcel'lus, Marcus Claudius, 287-289. 
Marcoman'ui, 428. 
Mar'cus Aure'lius, 428. 
Mardo'nius, commands Persian army in 
Greece, 123, 124. 

expedition into Thrace and Chalcidice, 114, 
115. 
Maritime colonies, aee Roman colonies. 
Ma'rius, Gains, 360-366. 
Mar 'mora, sea of, 83. 
Marriage, Eoman, 248. 
Mars, 226, 337. 
Massil'ia, 3S8. 
Massinis'sa, Numidia settled on, 292, 359. 

subjection to Rome, 328. 
Ma.xim'ian, 458, 469. 
Mayor of the palace, 493. 
Mec'ca, 494. 
Medes, 40, 104. 
Me'dia, 40, 

Mediaeval empire, 490-502. 
Medicine, science of, in Babylonia, 43. 
Medl'na,494. 

Mediterranean, Carthaginian control of west- 
ern, 269. 

Greek colonization in, 80-84. 

Phoenician colonization in, 51, 52. 

Rome mistress of, 292, 293, 319-331. 
Megalop'olis, 190. 
Meg'ara, alHance with Athens, 138. 

gains independence, 142. 

joins Achaean League, 304. 
Me'los, 173. 

Memorabil'ia (Xenophon), 309. 
Mem' phis, 24. 
Menander, .308, 342.. 
Men'de, 169. 
Menela'us, 66. 
Me'neg, 24. 
Mercenaries, in Carthaginian army, 269, 277. 

in Greek army, 198, 307. 

in Roman army, 478, 479. 
Merovin'gians, 486, 487, 493, 496. 
Mero'vius, 486. 
Mesopota'mia, 17, 424. 
Messfi'na, 83, 271. 
Messe'nia. conquered by Sparta, 78. 

location of, 61. 
Messe'nian Helots, 78, 135, 136, 190. 
Metau'rus River, 291. 
Metel'lus, Lucius Caecilius, 274. 
Metel'lus, Quintus Caecilius (the Mace- 
donian), 329. 
Metel'lus, Quintus Caecilius (the Numidian). 



Metropolitans (Archbishops), 491. 
Middle Kingdom of Egyptians, 25. 
Migrations, Dorian, 70, 71. 

of Gauls, 221, 229. 

of Germans, 361, 464-469, 479, 480, 484, 485. 

of Helvetians, 380. 

of lonians, 80. 

of primeval Greeks, 62. 
Milan', Edict of, 461. 
Mile'sians (-zhonz), 110. 
Mlle'tus, 106, 111. 

Military colonies, see Latin colonies. 
Military government in Rome, 258, 365, 411. 
Military organization, see Army. 
Military quaestors, 249, 250. 
Military roads, 107, 267, 279. 
Military Tribunes, 249, 250. 
MMo,386. 

Milti'a-de§, 111, 112, 117, 118. 
Miner 'va, 74, 158, 337. 
Mi'nos, 66. 
Min'otawr, 66. 
Missionaries, 469, 490-493. 
Mithridil tes, king of Pontus, 364. 
Mithridat'icwars, 365, 366, 375, 376. 
Mce'sia (-shi-a), Theodoric in, 480. 

Tiberius, establishes province of, 406. 

Visigoths in, 464,465. 
Moham'med (Mahomet), 494. 
Mohammedans, 494-497. 
Money used in Athens, 91, 92. 
Moses, 49. 
Mummies, 31, 32. 
Mum'mius, 329. 
Mun'da, 391. 

Muse'um, in Alexandria, 303. 
Mu'tina, 399. 
Myc'a-le, 125. 
Myfe'nae, 64, 65. 
My'lae, 273. 
My'ron, 157. 
My tile 'ne, 168. 

Naples (Neapolis), 257, 258. 

Narbonese' Gaul. 380. 

Nar'seg, 484. 

Natural History (Pliny), 441, 442. 

Nau'cratis, 84. 

Naupac'tus, Athenian colony, 136, 142. 

naval station at, 140. 
Navy, Carthaginian, 269, 275. 

Greek, 118-120, 133, 134, 148, 187. 

Roman, 272, 273, 276. 
Nax'os, Athenian dependency, 134. 

Persian expedition against, 109. 
Nax'us, city in Sicily, 83. 
Ne-ap'olis (Naples), 257, 258. 
Nebuchadnez'zar, 40. 
Nep'e-te, 238. 



622 



INDEX 



Ne'ro, Gaius Claudius, 291. 

Nero, Roman emperor, 418, 414, 450, 

Ner'va, 422, 423. 

Ner'vi-i, the, 881. 

New Car'thage, 291. 

New nobility, Roman, 253, 846. 

NTf 'aea, 462. 

Nif'ias, in Sicily, 174-176. 

leader conservative party, 167. 

peace of, 170. 

relinquishes command to Cleon, 169. 
Nicome'dia, 459. 

Nile River, seat of early civilization, 18. 
Nineteenth dynasty, in Egypt, 26. 
Nin'eveh, 40. 
Nobles, in Athens, 88, 89. 

in Homeric Age, 67. 

in Rome, 227, 242-254, 346, 420, 432, 433. 

in Sparta, 87. 
No 'la, 364. 
Nor'icum, 406. 
Northern Greece, 60. 
No'tium (-shi-um), battle of, 178. 
Nu'bia, 26. 

Nu'ma Porapil'ius, 222. 
Numan'tia (-shi-a), 326. 
Numid'ia, given to Massinissa, 292, 359. 

under Roman control, 293, 328. 

See, also Jugurthan war. 

Obelisks, 26, 32. 

Octa'vias, Gaius (Augustus), 898-408. 

Octavius, Roman tribune, 352. 

Odo-a'fer, 475, 479, 480. 

Od'yssey (Homer), 67, 841. 

CE'gist, 81. 

CEnoph'yta, 139. 

Ol'igarehy, Athenian, 87, 88, 180, 188, 184. 

Boeotian, 142, 170. 

Roman, 253, 346, 847. 

Spartan, 87, 163, 183, 188. 

Theban, 188, 204. 
Olympian games, 13, 79, 80. 
Olym'pus, Mount, 60. 
Olyn'thus, 196, 199. 
Optima'tes, depravity of, 359, 360. 

fight with Populares, 372. 

nominal government of, 377. 

power of, 347, 34S. 

slaughter of, 366. 
Orators, Greek, 198, 298, 309-811. 

Roman, 438. 
Orehom'enus, 64, 74. 
Ores' te§, 475. 
Oriental world, civilization of, 54-56, 213, 

214. 
Osi'ris, Egyptian god, 31. 
Os'tia, 223, 469. 
Ostracism, 99. 



Os'trogoths, driven from Italy, 484. 

Huns conquer, 465. 

kingdom of, 480-482. 

settle in Danube provinces, 479, 480. 
O'tho, 414. 
Ov'id, 441. 

Paganism, ruin of, 461. 
Painting, Athenian, 157. 

Egyptian, 32, 33. 

See also Art. 
Pal'atine hill, 225. 
Pal'estine, 53. 
Palmy 'ra, 447. 
Panegyr'ic (Isocrates), 312. 
Pa'nem et circen'ses, 434. 
Panno'nia, 406, 480. 
Panor'mns, 274. 
Papacy, Roman, 490-492. 
Pii'riahs, 16. 

Par'is, Trojan prince, 66. 
Parnas'sus, Mount, 79. 
Pa'ros, 118. 
Par'thenon, 158. 

Par'thians, war with Rome, 892, 424, 428. 
Pa'ter famil'ias, 227. 
Pater'culus, Velle'ius, 441. 
Pa'triarchs, 491. 
Patricians, in early Rome, 227. 

life of, 438. 

new, 420, 432. 

struggle with plebeians, 242-254. 
Patriotism of Roman citizens, 275, 338. 
Paul, the apostle, 448, 449. 
Pau'lus, Lucius ^milius, 286, 287. 
Paulus, Lucius Jimilius, the Younger, 825. 
Pausa'nias, Spartan fleet commanded by, 131. 

treason of, 131, 132. 

victory at Plata?a, 124. 
Pausa'nia-s, Spartan king, deposed, 186. 
Pavi'a, 484. 
Peace, of Antalcidas, 187. 

of Nicias, 170. 

of Philocrates, 200. 
Peasants, Athenian, 91, 92. 

Roman, 349, 353. 
Pelop'idas, 188-192, 195. 
Peloponne'sian (-shan) League, Delian Con- 
federacy contrasted with, 143, 163, 164. 

growth of, 78, 79. 

triumph of, 180. 
Peloponnesian war, 163-172, 177-180. 
Peloponne'sus, 61. 
Pena'tes and La'res, 226. 
Pcp'in of Her'istal, 494. 
Pepin of Landen, 494. 
Pepin the Short, 496. 
Perdic'cas, 296, 298. 
Per'gamus, 319, 320, 325. 



INDEX 



523 



Perian'der, 96. 
Per'icle§, age of, 138-144. 

art in time of, 157, 158. 

character of, 166, 167. 

government in time of, 150. 

opposes Cimon's policy, 135, 136. 

orations of, 310. 
Perioe'ci, 76. 

Persecutions, Christian, 450-454. 
Persep'olis, 209. 
Per 'sens, 324, 325. 
Persia, Alexander's conquest of, 206-211. 

art in, examples of, 104, 106, 114, 209. 

Babylonia and Assyria conquered b}', 40, 
41. 

civilization in, 125, 126. 

Egypt conquered by, 28, 486. 

Greek wars with, 110, 116-125, 186. 

Ionian wars with, 105-111, 133, 135, 178, 
185, 186. 

Lydia conquered by, 105. 

Media conquered by, 104. 

Mohammedans overwhelm empire, 495. 

peace of Antalcidas dictated by, 187. 

Philip prepares to invade, 204. 

Phoenicians conquered by, 53. 

religion of, 107. 

Syria conquered by, 486. 
Peter, the apostle, primacy of, 491, 492. 

spreads gospel, 448. 
Pe'trine supremacy, doctrine of, 491. 
Phaeii'cians (shanz), 87. 
Phalanx, introduced into battle, 189. 

Macedonian, 195, 262, 203. 
Pha'raohs, 29. 
Phar'nafeg, 376, 390. 
Pharsu'lus, 389. 
Phid'ias, 158, 315. 
Phi'don, 75. 
Phi'liB, 19. 

Philip Arrhidaj'us, 296, 298. 
Philip II., of Macedon, 194-205. 

character of, 205. 

death of, 205. 
Philip v., of Macedon, Spartans defeated by, 
305. 

war with Greece, 288. 

war with Rome, 320-322. 
Philip'pi, 401. 
Philip'pics, 399. 
Philoc' rates, peace of, 200. 
Philosophers, Greek, 154, 155, 309, 313-315. 

Roman, 441. 
Phofaj'a, 102. 
Pho'cians (-sh«nz), alliance with Athens, 139. 

war with Philip, 196, 197, 200. 
Pho'cis, location of, 61. 
Phoenic'ia (-shi-a), Alexander's conquests in, 
208. 



Phoenicia {Continued). 

Carthage founded, 269. 

history of, 51-57. 

influence on Greeks, 68. 

location of, 49. 
Phryg'ia, 299. 
Phy'le, 1 84. 
Pife'num, 4S5. 
Pi'lum, the, 236. 
Pin'dar, 151. 
Pirfe'us, foreigners in, 149. 

Athenian port, 119, 130, 

Lysander blockades harbor of, 180. 

Sulla punishes, 365. 
Pirates, Cllician, war with, 374, 375. 

Illyrian, war with, 278. 
Pisistrat'idae, rule of, 96, 97. 
Pisis'tratus, 94, 96, 97. 
Plapid'ia, 475. 
Plague, in Athens, 166. 

in Italy, 428. 
Plains of Asia, 13. 
Plain, party of, 94. 
Platse'a, Athens retains, 142. 

battle of, 125, 168. 

league of, 124. 
Pla'to, 313. 
Plau'tus, 342. 
Plebe'ians, Roman, 228-230, 242-254. 

struggle of, 242-254. 
Plin'y (the Elder), 441, 442. 
Plin'y (the Younger), 425, 442, 451. 
Plu'tarch, 310. 
Pol'emareh, 87, 88. 
Pollen 'tia (-shi-a), 467. 
Polyb'ius, 236. 
Polygno'tus, 157. 
Pompg'ii (-ye), 421. 

Pompev (Gnaeus Pompeius), and Caesar, 
385-391. 

character of, 390. 

conquests of, 372-376. 

death of, 388. 

in first triumvirate, 878. 

military dictator of Rome, 375. 

proconsul in Spain, 384. 

sons of, 390, 391. 
Pon'tifex Max'imus, 404. 
Pon'tus, 364, 365, 376. 
Pope, Charlemagne's relations with, 497. 

foundation of temporal power of, 496, 
497. 

See also papacy, Roman. 
Popula'res, Ca>sar leader of, 380, 386. 

fight with Optimates, 372. 

Marius and Cinna leaders of, 366. 

reforms demanded by, 347. 

rule of, established, 874. 
Posei'don, 83. 



524 



INDEX 



Posido'nia, 88. 

Pot' idsea, 165. 

Prae'fect, 460. 

Praefec'tus anno'nse, 404. 

Praefectus ur'bis, 404. 

Praefectus vi'gilum, 404. 

Praeto'rian guard, 414, 418. 

Praetors, 249, 250, 368. 

Praxlt'e-le§, 315, 316. 

Pres'byters, 490. 

Pri'am, 66. 

Priesthoods, patrician, opened to plebeians, 

251. 
Priests, Egyptian, 31. 

Hindu, 16. 

of Christian church, 490. 

Roman colleges of, 226. 
Primates, 491. 
Proconsul, in provinces, 348, 868. 

office of, established, 258. 
Proco'pius, 483. 
Propon'tis, 83. 
Propraetor, 348, 368. 
Propylae'a, the, 160. 
Proscriptions, 366, 367, 400. 
Provinces, Persian, 107. 
Provinces, Roman, army recruited in, 458. 

authority of governor of, 460. 

emperor, governor of, 404, 405. 

government of, 277, 278, 296, 297, 348, 368, 
391, 392. 

policy of Caesar toward, 391, 392. 

policy of Claudius toward, 411-413. 

prosperity in, 431, 432, 436. 

taxation reduced in, 391. 

Tiberius's justice to, 409. 
Provincial emperor, first, 423, 
Psammet'iebus, 28. 
Ptol'emy, the geographer, 21. 
Ptolemy I., king of Egypt, 298, 299. 
Ptolemy V., king of Egypt, 28. 
Ptolemy XII., king of Egypt, 389. 
Public lands, distribution of, 245, 250, 251, 

351, 353. 
Pu'nic war, first, 270-277. 

second, 283-293. 

third, 327. 
Pyd'na, 196, 325. 
Py'los, 168. 

Pyramids of Egypt, 24, 25, 32. 
Pyr'enees, 291. 
Pyr'rhus, 262-265, 270. 

Quaes'tors, military, 249, 250. 

Rabble, Roman, 351-357, 359, 362, 363, 409. 
Races of man, 11, 12. 
Ram'se§ (Ram'eseg) II., prayer of, 29. 
reign of, 26, 27. 



Rau'dian Plain, 361. 
Raven'na, exarchate of, 484. 

Lombards capture, 496. 
Reg'ulus, Marcus Atillus, 273, 274. 
Religion, Christian, 447-456, 461, 462, 469, 
487, 490-493, 495. 

Mohammedan, 494. 

of Anglo-Saxons, 469. 

of Babylonia and Assyria, 42, 43. 

of China, 14. 

of Greece, 68, 69, 79. 

of Hebrews, 50, 51. 

of India, 16. 

of Persia, 107. 

of Phoenicians, 54, 56. 

of Romans, 226, 242, 336, 337. 
Remembrancers of the law (Thesmothetae), 

88. 
Republic, Roman, early, 225, 233-295. 

later, 319-395, 401. 
Republic, The (Plato), 313. 
Ilex Sacro'rum, 242. 
Rhe'gi-um, 83, 271. 
Rhodes, center of artistic life, 316. 

importance of, 319. 

nominal independence of, 325. 

Rome aids, against Philip, 320. 
Rif 'imer, 475. 
Ripua'rian Franks, 486. 
Road, Royal, 17. 
Roads, built by Etruscans, 221. 

military, 107, 267, 279. 

Romans construct, 436. 
Ro'ma Quadra' ta, 224. 
Roman army, see Army. 
Roman assemblies, see Assemblies. 
Roman colonies, 266, 277, 
Roman empire, 398-479. 

division of, 463, 490. 

eastern, 479, 480, 4S2-4S6, 495. 

fall of western, 475-479. 

Holy, 490-502. 
Roman Forum, pictures of, 444, 470. 
Roman kingdom, 218-232. 
Roman law, development of, 443, 
Roman life, 225-227, 248, 334-342, 431^34. 
Roman literature, 341, 342, 438-442. 

epochs of later, 445. 
Roman papacy, -490-493. 
Roman religion, see religion. 
Roman republic, early, 225, 233-295. 

later, 819-395, 401. 
Romance languages and nations, 488. 
Rome, bishops of, 471, 472, 491, 492. 

capital moved from, 460. 

fire in, 413. 

foreigners in, 227, 228, 265-267. 

founding of, 222. 

Gauls destroy, 237. 



INDEX 



525 



Rome {Continued). 

influence limited, 426. 

Lombards attack, 485, 496. 

rebuilt, 238. 

supremacy of, in Italy, 418-430. 

traditional history of, 222-231. 

Yandals sack, 469, 475. 

Visigoths sack, 467. 
Eom'ulus, 222. 

Romulus Augus'tulus, 475, 476. 
Eoncesval'les, 497. 
Rog'amond, 484. 
Roget'ta stone, 28. 
Roxan'a, 296. 
Royal Road, 17. 
Ru'bicon, 387. 

Sabel'lians, home of, 220. 

invasions of, 234, 255. 
Sa'bineg, home of, 220. 

invade Latium, 223. 

Roman peace with, 222. 
Sacred Law, 245. 
Sacred Mount, 244. 
Sacred war, 196, 197, 200. 
Sagun'tum, 283. 
St. Sophi'a, Church of, 482. 
Sal'amis, Athenians lose, 93, 94. 

battle of, 122, 123. 
Sa'lian Franks, 486. 
Sa'li-I of Mars, 226. 
Sal'lust, 439. 

Sa'mas, Babylonian god, 43. 
Sam'nites, characteristics of, 255, 256. 

home of, 220. 

join Hannibal, 288. 

loyalty to Rome, 285. 

wars of, 239, 257-261. 
Sa'mos, dependency of Athens, 187. 

independence of, 140. 

loyalty to Athens, 177. 

revolt in, 143. 
Sam'othrafe, 316. 
Sanskrit, 16. 
Sap'pho (saffo), 151. 
Sar'aceng, 497. 
Sardinia, 277. 
Sar'dis, 109, 110. 
Sar'gon I. 36. 
Sargon IL 39. 
Saron'ic Gulf, 74, 138. 
Satires (Juvenal), 442. 
Satrap, 107, 297. 
Saturnl'nus, 362. 
Saul, 49. 
Saxons, 497. 
Science, Babylonian, 48. 

Greek, 315. 
Sfio'ne, 169. 



Sfip'io JEemilia'nus,Publius Cornelius, called 

Africanus Minor, 327, 328, 353. 
Scipio, Gnseus Cornelius, 284, 290. 
Scipio, Lucius Cornelius, called Asiaticus, 

323. 
Scipio, Metellus, 390. 
Scipio, Publius Cornelius, the elder, 284, 

290. 
Scipio, Publius Cornelius, called Africanus 

Major, 290-294, 323, 324. 
Scipio, Publius Cornelius, son of Scipio Afri- 
canus Major, 342. 
Sco'pas, 316. 
Sculpture, Athenian, 157, 315, 316. 

Babylonian and Assyrian, 43, 44. 

Egyptian, 33. 

Phoenician, 54. 
Sgy'ros, 134. 
Sfyth'ians, 107. 
Seges'ta, 173. 
Seja'nus, 410, 411. 
Seleu'gidsB, 301, 309. 
Seku'eus, 299, 301. 
Seli'nus, 173. 
Sella'sia (shi-a), 305. 
Semit'ic race (Semites), 12, 86. 
Sempro'nius, Tiberius, 284. 
Senate, Roman, action against Caesar, 387. 

difference with commons, 287. 

growth of power, 228, 347, 351, 367, 368. 

loses control of courts, 355. 

plebeians admitted to, 242. 

power of, reduced, 391. 
Senatorial provinces, 405. 
Sen'eca, 413, 441. 
Sennaeh'erib, 39. 
Senti'num, 260. 
Serfs, Hindu caste, 16. 
Serto'rius, Quintus, 372, 378. 
Ser'vius Tul'lius, 223, 229. 
Set, Egyptian god, 31, 
Seve'rus, Septim'ius, 447. 
Sex'tius, Lucius, 250, 
Shepherd kings, 25. 
Ships, Egyptian, 34. 

Greek, 64, 125. 

Phoenician, 55. 

See also Navy. 
Shore, party of, 94. 
Sib'ylline books, 250. 
Sicily, a Roman province, 277. 

Athenian expedition into, 173-176. 

Caesar conquers, 389. 

Carthage relinquishes claim to, 276. 

Dionysius, ruler of, 263. 

Dorian states of, 165. 

first Punic war in, 270-277. 

liberated by Timoleon, 264. 

lyric poets in, 151. 



526 



INDEX 



Sicily {Oontintied). 
Pyrrhus in, 268, 264. 
revolts in, 288, 289. 
settlements in, 83. 
tyrants in, 94, 126, 127. 
Sicyon (sish'i-on), 94, 95, 304. 
Si'don, 51. 

Silk culture, introduced into Europe, 483. 
Simon 'i-de§. 151. 
Sin, Babylonian god, 42. 
Slaves, Greek, 68, 148, 149. 

Roman, 350, 373, 432, 433, 478. 
Social war, in Italy, 363, 364. 
Soc'rateg, 154, 155, 309. 

impeachment, trial, and death of, 155. 
Soissons (swahs-soN'), 486. 
Sol'omon, 49. 
So'lon, 91, 92. 
Soph'ists, 154, 155. 
Soph'ocleg, 153. 
Southern Greece, 60, 61. 
Spain, Carthaginian conquests in, 282. 
ceded to Kome, 292. 
Charlemagne's conquests in, 497. 
Greek colonies in, 84. 
Mohammedans conquer, 495. 
Pompey's sons defeated in, 390, 391. 
rebellion in, 372, 373. 
Roman conquests in, 290-293. 
Vandals in, 468. 
Visigoths settle in, 468. 
Spanish march, 497. 

Sparta, aggressions from 885 to 879 b.c. 187, 
188. 
Agis and Cleomenes urge reforms in, 305. 
and Athens contrasted, 163, 164. 
Athens at vv^ar with, 139, 142, 163-172, 177- 

180, 186-189. 
classes in, 76. 
degradation of, 189, 190. 
education in, 77, 78, 147. 
Lycurgan constitution, 75-78. 
Macedonians opposed by, 297. 
Messenian revolt, 135, 136. 
oligarchies established by, 87, 168, 183, 

188. 
Pausanias, admiral of fleet, 180, 131. 
Peloponnesian league, 78, 79, 142, i43, 163, 

164, ISO. 
Peloponnesian wars, 163-172, 177-180. 
Persian wars, aid refused in, 105, 109, 117. 
Persian wars with, 121-125, 185, 186. 
supremacy of, 180, 183-189. 
Theban revolt against, 188, 189. 
Spar'tacus, 373, 374. 
Sphacte'ria, 168. 
Sphinxes, 33. 
Spole'to, 485. 
Stil'ieho, 467. 



Stoics, 314, 815, 
Sto'lo, Gaius Licinius, 250. 
Storming a city, 326. 
Stra'bo, 20, 21. 
Sueto'nius, 442. 
Sue'vi, 380. 

Suflfrage, see Citizenship. 
Sul'la, Lucius Cornelius, at war with Marius, 
364. 

Jugurtha captured by, 360, 361. 

marches into Rome, 364. 

reforms of, 367-369, 374. 

war with Mithridates, 365, 366. 
Sulpicius (sul-pish i-us), consul, 321. 
Sulpicius, tribune, 364. 
Sume'riang, 36. 

Supreme court, in Athens, 94, 150. 
Su'sa, 209. 
Su'trium, 238. 
Sy-a'grius, 486. 
Syb'aris, 83. 
Syb'ota, 164. 

Syr'aciise, Athenian aid against, solicited, 
173. 

founded, 83. 

Roman alliance abandoned, 288. 

siege of, 289. 

Spartans in, 176. 

tyranny in, 126. 
Syr'ia, Assyrian conquest of, 38. 

civilization in, 308. 

Crassus proconsul of, 384. 

Egyptians at war in, 26. 

location of, 18. 

Roman conquest of, 376, 877. 

Seleucus king of, 299. 
it'ia, 78. 



Tap'itus, 442. 
Tan'agra, 139. 
Ta'o-ism, 14. 
Tar'entin^s, 262. 
Taren'tum, founded, 83. 

importance of, 261, 262. 

Pyrrhus aids, against Rome, 262. 

Romans capture, 265, 290. 
Tarquin'ius, Lucius (the Proud), 223, 224. 
Tar'quins, Rome under, 229-233. 
Tar'sus, 301, 302. 
Tartars, 14. 
Taxes, collection in time of Vespasian, 420. 

imperial, 457, 458. 

in Roman provinces, 355, 891. 
Ta-yg'etus, Mount, 77. 
Tel'amon, 279. 
Tem'pe, Vale of, 60. 
"Ten Thousand," retreat of the, 185. 
Ter'ence, 342. 
Terentil'ian rogation, 246. 



INDEX 



527 



Terentil'ius, 246. 

Teutoburg (toi'to-burg) forest, 407. 

T6u'to-ne§, invasions of, 361. 

T^u tong, see Germans. 

Thap'sus, 390. 

Tha'sos, 135. 

The-ag'ene§, 89. 

Theater, Roman, 434. 

Thebeg, Athenian alliance, 186, 188, 189, 

Athens threatened by, 180. 

destruction of, 206. 

Philip punishes, 204. 

revolution in, ISS, 189. 

Spartan treacherj^ in, 187, 188, 

supremacy of, in Boeotia, 74. 

supremacy of, in Greece, 190-192. 
Thebes (Egypt), 25. 
Themis'tocleg, banished, 132, 

builds new navy, 118-120. 

in Persian war, 122, 123. 

urges rebuilding of Athens, 180. 
Theodo'ra, 482. 
Theod'oric, 479-482. 
Theodo'sius (-shi-us), 465, 466. 
Theram'ene§, 179, 184. 
Thermop'yljB, 121, 122, 197, 323. 
The'seus, 65, 66, 74. 
Thesmoth'etse (Legislators), 88. 
Thes'saly, Athenian alliance with, 138. 

description of, 60. 

Philip of Macedon in, 197. 

Theban invasion of, 190, 191. 
The'tes, 94. 

Thirty tyrants, 183, 184. 
Thirty Years' Truce, 142. 
Thoth'me§ I., 26. 
Thothmes III., 26. 
Thrace, Gauls devastate, 299. 

Greek culture in, 301. 

opposes Persian army, 114. 

rebeUion in, 206. 

settlement of, 83. 

Visigoths in, 466. 
Thrasybu'lus, 179, 184, 185. 
Thufj'd'ideg, 155, 156. 
Tibe'rius, 406, 408-410. 
Ticl'nus Kiver, 284. 
Tig'lath-Pile'ger I., 37, 38. 
Tiglath-Pileser II., 38. 
Tigra'nes, 376. 

Ti'gris-Euphra'tes, valley of, 36, 40. 
Time, methods of reckoning, 13, 43. 
Timocracy, in Athens, 89, 91. 

in Rome, 229, 230. 
Tirao leon, 264. 
Ti'ryn§, 64. 

Tissapher'ne§, 177, 185. 
Ti'tus, 419, 421. 
Tools, of early Romans, 226, 



201, 



Tours (toor), 495. 
Trade, Alexandrian, 303. 

Asiatic cities, 102, 302, 

Athenian, 88, 89, 92, 97. 

Babylonian and Assyrian, 40, 46, 

Egyptian, 25-27, 33, 34. 

Euxine Sea, 83. 

Lydian, 103. 

Macedonian, 214. 

Mesopotamian, 17. 

Phoenician, 51-55. 

Roman, 436, 437. 

Syrian, 18. 
Tragedy, Greek, 152, 153. 
Tra'jan, administration of, 425, 426. 

conquests of, 423-425. 

persecutes Christians, 451, 452. 
Transalpine Gaul, see Gaul, Transalpine. 
Trasime'nus, Lake, 2S5. 
Treason, laws for punishment of, 409,410. 
Tre'bia River, 284. 
Tribes, Athenian, 98. 

Roman, 229, 230, 238. 
Tribo'nian, 483. 
Trib'une, function of, 247, 248, 

military, 249, 250. 

power of, 244-247, 368, 374. 
Tri'remes, 148. 
Triumph, the, 236. 
Trium'virate, first, 378, 379. 

second, 400. 
Tro'jan war, 66. 
Troy, siege of, 66. 
Tul'lius Hostil'ius, 223. 
Turks. 479, 
Tus'eany, 485. 
Twelve Tables, law of, 247. 
Twelve tribes, 49. 
Tyrants, era of, 95, 

in Athens, 183. 
Tyre, 51, 208. 
TjTrhe'nian Sea, 277. 

Um'brians, 220, 260. 
Unification, of Attica, 74, 75. 

of Greece, 73-79. 
Usur'tasen, 25. 
U'tica, 390. 

Va'Iens, 463, 465. 

Valentin 'ian I., 463, 465. 

Valentinian III., 475. 

Vale'rian law, 243. 

Van 'dais, 468, 469, 475. 

Var'ro, Gaius Terentius, 286, 287. 

Va'rus, 407. 

Veii (ve'yi), 233, 234. 

Ven'eti, conquest of, 381. 

Ven'ice, 471, 472. 



528 



2 :?^ J ^ 






5 



INDEX 



Ve'nus, 315, 816, 318, 387. 

Vercel'lae, 361. 

Ve'rus, Lu'clus (-shi-us), 428, 

Vespa'sian (-zM-an), 414, 418-420. 

Ves'ta, 226. 

Vesu'vius, Mount, 421. 

Vi'a Ap'pia, 267. 

ViaFlamin'ia, 279. 

Via Lati'na, 267. 

Vicars, 460. 

Victory, Winged, 316, 317. 

Vir'gil, 440, 441. 

Virgins, Vestal, 226. 

Vi§'igoths, kingdom of, established, 468. 

migrations of, 464-468. 

partially conquered by Franks, 486. 

partially conquered by Mohammedans, 
495. 
Vitel'lius, 414. 
Vol'sfi, Romans subdue, 238. 

Sabellian tribes attack, 234. 

threaten Rome, 233. 
Vosges (vozh) Mountains, 493. 



Vul'so, Lucius Manlius, 278. 
Vultur'nus River, 219. 

Warriors, Hindu caste of, 16. 

Weapons, of Babylonians and Assyrians, 41. 

of Egyptians, 30. 

of Greeks, 147, 14S. 

of Romans, 225, 236. 
Western Church, 490-493. 
Western Empire, fall of, 475-479. 
Wingless Victory, temple of, 159, 160. 
Women, German, 464. 

Greek, 69, 70, 145-147. 
Writing, of Babylonians and Assyrians, 45. 

of Egyptians, 28. 

of Phoenicians, 54. 

Xen'ophon (zen-), 309, 310. 
Xerx'eg (zerx-), 120-123. 

Za'ma, 292. 
Zeno'bia, 447. 
^evL&, 226, 337. 
Zoro-as'trianism, 107. 



^CV^*^^-- 



